Ambushed
by Amethysia
Summary: Kai hadn't even advertised for a housekeeper, but here Amethyst was, living in his house. Whiskey River had it's share of unusual visitors but Amethyst's claim she was his fairy godmother topped it all. KaixOC
1. Chapter 1

Kai Hiwatri sat in the dark, calmly drinking from a bottle of vodka as he methodiacally cleaned the antique gun he'd decided to use to end his life.

The single action Colt revolver was known by many names: the Peacemaker and the Gun That Won the West were two of the more popular. It had belonged to Kai's father, William Hiwatari, who'd distinguished himself fighting in Union blue during the war, had returned home at the end of it only to discover his wife had died of a fever the night before his arrival.

"timing" Kai muttered as he traced the specialized engraving on the wooden grip of the revolver with a fingertip, "is everything"

He shook his head as he thought about the cruel twist of fate that had allowed a man to survive years of carnage without so much as a single scratch, then took the life of the woman who'd remained the single fixed star in his life during those brutal war years.

He imagined how William must have felt riding home, excited about being alive, excited about resuming his life, tending his land, making love, having children. Although there was more than a few years had passed between them Kai could definately identify with his ancestor.

It hadn't been that long ago he'd been planning a future with the woman he loved. He looked through the alcohol fog at a framed photograph on the table beside him, dispecting a laughing, auburn haired woman. The picture of Laura Swann Fletcher had been taken during an idyllic stolen weekend in the shenandiah valley. That same weekend their child had been concieved. The child he hadn't even known she was carrying until they were dead.

Murdered.

The word tolled heavily in his mind, like a funeral knell. There was no escaping it. And, Since the killer had thoughtlessly left him to live with the pain of such gutwrenching loss, Kai decided that the only thing to do was finish the job himself.

He pulled the hammer back with his thumb. At first click, the cylinder rotated freely, allowing hom to load the single bullet, then stuck the seven and a half inch barrel into his mouth.

Unwilling to consider this final act cowardly, Kai refused to close his eyes. Instead he kept his gaze firmly fixed on Laura's lovely, lovely face as he pulled the trigger.

"In all the thousands of years I have been in this position I can't remember _ever_ witnessing a more dismal romantic match" The older woman's raven black eyes expressed intense disapproval as she glared over the top of her wire framed reading glasses at the young woman standing in front of her desk. "Whatever were you thinking of?"

"I truly believed it would work" Amethyst said quietly. Although it wqas differcult not to squirm beneath that lazer like glare she managed to hold her was, however, twisting her hands together behind her back.

Those censorious eyes widened with disbelief. "You actually believed a worldly prince and a naive young kindergarten teacher would have anything in common?"

Amethyst had heard this same cristism for years and couldn't understand why she was being reprimanded for her mistake yet again. Although she was sorely tempted to point out that the critera for the royal match had not been all that simple - there were not, after all, many eligible virgins in the latter half of the twentith century to choose from- she managed to hold her tongue.

"It worked for Cinderella" She murmured

"Cinderella was a exception" the words were shot at her like stones. "And she was fortunate enough to have a world-class fairy godmother. You are not" the deep voice turned heavy with scorn. "even approaching Harmony's league"

The insult, although unfortunately true, stung. Amethyst knew she had made a tactical mistake bringing up Harmony. The woman was, without a doubt, the most famous fairy godmother who'd ever lived.

Harmony had retired after her sterling success with Cinderella and in her honor, a statue of her, turning the white mice into horses for the famed pumpkin coach, had been erected in the contemplation gardens.

Although Harmony was a role model for all fairy godmothers, young and old, Amethyst managed, just barely, to refrain from mentioning that even she had been wise enough to realise she couldn't top her successwith that pretty, albeit vapid, little scullery maid.

And if she couldn't, thought Amethyst dejectedly, how in the world was anyone else expected to?

"I really don't know what we're going to do with you" her superior, Andromeda, said with a deep, heartfelt sigh. "I realise you professed a desire to work in romance, however, I've been thinking prehaps some other area-"

"Oh please don't transfer me!" Amethyst untangled her fingers from behind her back and pressed her hands against her heart, which had suddenly begun to pound with a wild, out of control beat. "I love romance!"

"I know, Dear" the dark eyes softened with affection "You are, without a doubt, the most romantic soul we've had since Harmony's time. And we've all been hoping your skills would catch up with your hear but that doesn't seem to be happening. Does it?" Amethyst's mind quickly flickered through the couples she'd matched inthe past. Surely she could find one winner to prove her competence and keep her job. The first couple who came to mind were Devil Anse Hatfield and Roseanna McCoy. Putting aside the depressing decades-long murderous mountain fued she tried again.

The memory of Henry VIII and Anne Boyleyn was definately not encourging. Then there'd been that dashing soldier. He and Cleopatra seemed to have been a perfect love match. Who could of ever predicted things would turn out so tragically?

Amethyst sighed "I see your point" She said reclutantly. "Hollyhock needs someone to help in the kitchen" Andromeda said thoughtfully. "You do seem to enjoy cooking-"

"Cooking is a avocation" Amethyst Interrupted "Romance is my life!"

Andromeda frowned and continued "what about accounting? You have a amazing knack for numbers and we've been running so over budget lately in so many areas-"

"I'd go crazy sitting in front of a computer all day" Amethyst complained. A transfer to accounting would also mean no visits to earth; unlike other fairy godmothers who found the planet uncivilized and untidy Amethyst found it exhilarting and fascinating. She dragged a trembling hand though her wild tangle of purple long curls. "I'll admit my record has been less than stellar but if I could only have another chance I know I could get things right"

Her voice trembled, she felt the traitorous sting of tears behind her eyes and Amethyst, had to bite her lip to keep from weeping.

"That's precisely what we're going to give you" Andromeda surprised Amethyst by saying. "One more chance"

"Oh thank you!" When she rushed joyfully forward towards the desk planning to hug her superior, she was stopped in her tracks by a uplifting hand.

"It is not a simple assignment"

"I don't care. I promise. I'll succeed" Hope sang it's clear sweet song through her veins "And if I don't, you can transfer me out of romance forever"

"That's our intention" Andromeda's tone assured Amethyst this was truly her final chance to prove that she could make a successul love match " The man we're assigning you to will not cooperative"

"That's all right-"

"Indeed, I expect he will you at every turn, You see, He has already loved once, And that love was so strong and so deep he's convinced himself it can never be equaled"

"That's so sad" Ever the optimist Amethyst couldn't imagine such a defeatist attitude. "What happened? Did she leave him for another man?"

"She died"

"That is tragic"

"It's worse. Laura was murdered. She was also pregnant with this man's childat the time and married to another man, a very important, very influencetial man. It was quite the scandal, Especially when Kai was arrested for her murder"

"Oh, dear" Amethyst began to feel just the slightest twinge of worry. "That's his name? Kai?" It was a nice name she thought. Strong and Masculine. And very mortal.

"Yes. And now, as you'll see, he believes he no longer gas any reason to live" She handed Amethyst a thick folder "This is their story. You'll want to acquaint yourself with the particluars"

"I'll read it right away"

"That would be adviseable in most cases. But I fear you don't have much time" Andromeda picked up the remote control from the desk and pointed it at the wall. Amethyst watched as a picture appeared.

Kai was certainly a handsome enough man, she though, in a rough-hewn sort of way. He was sitting down, but judging from the long legs, stretched out in front of him, she suspected he'd be tall. He was whipcord lean but his bodyappeared to be all muscle and sinew. The grim brackets on either side of his mouth suggested that his heart was as hard as hisbody. And no wonder, She though sadly, thinking of what he'd lost.

His face, weathered from years of working outdoors, a startling contrast to his crimson eyes. And the bleak expression in those eyes as he picked up a photograph of a smiling woman she took to be his beloved Laura, tore at something very deep and very elemental inside Amethyst.

He put down the photo, picked up the glass and downed the clear liquid. Amethyst gasped as she saw him pick up the revolver.

"Oh no!" She called out.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2.

Seconds later she landed, not gently, on Kai's front porch, just as the deafening sound of a gunshot shattered the mountain silence.

"Oh no!" she cried again. She couldn't be too late! No longer concerned for her career, but desperate to save Kai's life, she burst through the door.

Kai glared at the hole he'd just put in his knotty pine plank wall. Hell, he couldn't even pull this off, he though disgustedly. He'd pulled the barrel out of his mouth at the last instant, when it had suddenly dawned on him why his father hadn't used this gun on himself all those years ago.

William must of believed that the woman he loved would not of wanted him to kill himself. And kai had come to the same conclusion. Even though his mind was vodka sodden, Kai knew Laura would of been disappointed in him if he'd succeeded in pulling the trigger.

So, He thought, miserably, what now?

Before he could come up with a answer to that, his front room door burst open and a strange woman rushed into the room.

"Oh, thank goodness, you didn't do it" She gasped, her hand at her throat. Her hazel eyes were wide with distress, her face pale.

"Do what?"

"You know" she glanced nervously at the colt revolver he was still holding in his hand. "Shoot yourself"

"What?" His laugh was harsh and bitter. "Look lady I don't know who the hell you are, or what you'e doing in my house but for your information I was cleaning my father's gun and it went off" She followed his gaze to the wall "I see"

The bullet hole marring the gleaming wood filled Amethyst with renewed optimism. He hadn't truly wanted to kill himself after all! At the last moment he'd found some reason to live. And that, she told herself, was enough to hang her hopes on. Kai wasn't the lost cause she feared.

"I'm glad one of us does" he muttered. He shook his head and squinted at her "how manu of you are there?"

"Just one"

"I was afraid of that" He blinked, trying to get the dual images come together.

"I'm afraid you've had a bit too much to drink" Mare Antony had also liked his wine, she recalled regretfully. At least Amethyst thought, whatever Kai wqas drinking it couldn't be nearly as leathal as Hatfield's moonshine.

"I'm afraid you're right" That said, Kai passed out. "well" Amethyst stood with her hands on her hips looking down at the man slumped in his chair.

Kai was even more distressing in person than he'd appeared on that oversize screen in her superior's office. His two toned blue hair was long. Not tendy, male model long, but shaggy and unkempt, hanging limply over the collar of his rumpled denim shirt. From the stubble darkening his guant cheeks, he hadn't shaved for days. Which was just as well, she decided, since if drinking to such excess was routine behaviour, he'd probably have cut his throat.

His eyes, now closed, had been tormented. And, she thought, haunted.

"Talk about your challenges" She murmured. Obviously no woman in her right mind would want anything to do with such a haggard, unkempt, humorless man. "you;re a mess Kai Hiwatari"

As was this house she realised as her gaze swept over the stacks of unread newspapers piled beside the door, the dirty glasses scattered on table tops, the layer of dust that has settled over everything like a shroud.

"but don't worry" She told the unconcious man, "you're in good hands"

She blinked twice. The sent kai out of the room. At the second blink she followed. He was now sprawled on his wide bed. Even as she admired the intricate hand carving on the headboard, Amethyst was appaled at the sate of his rumpled sheets. It had obviously been some time since they'd been washed.

"At least it appears you've been changing your underwear" She said as her appraising gaze took in the dirty clothes scattered over the plank flooring "I suppose at this point, I should be grateful for small favors"

Although she could of done it without even lifting a finger, something made Amethyst bend down to pullw off his boots as a mortal woman might. She considered undressing him then decided to take advantage of unconcious state to clean up the house. There was a great deal to be done. It would be better of she could at least set the stage for challenge to come.

Amethyst groaned as she walked into the kitchen and viewed even more unwashed glasses, coffee cups, and dirty dishes piled in the sink. Fast food containers filled the wastebasket and overflowed onto the floor. The refrigerator held beer and something green that looked as if it had once been a brick of cheese. The only thing she found in any of the cupboards was half a loaf of breadthat had turned a even darker green than the cheese, and more bottles of vodka.

Her taks was to find Kai a wife. And part of her wantedto match the man passed out upstairs with the right woman because he desperately needed love. Another, Equally strong part of her admitted to needing this match so she could keep her assignment in the romance division. But no woman would dare walk into this house for fear of catching the plaque. Or worse.

"This is definately going to be a challenge" She muttered as she wondered where to begin.

Some fairy godmothers might have been discouraged but since such thoughts were against her nature, Amethyst blinked to start the water running in the sink and reminded herself not even Harmony had faced such a challenge. Which meant she decided happily, as another blink created thick layer of frothy bubbles over the unwashed dished, that if she pulled this of, she would definately be in Harmony's league.

the first thing Kai noticed, as he roused himself from his drunken stupor, was the tantalizing aroma wafting down the hall from the kitchen. If he hadn't known any better, he would of thought it was beef stew. But of course that was impossible. Obviously his mind was playing tricks on him again. The way it had when he's thought there were purple haired women in his living room. Right after he'd shot a damn hole in his wall.

He pushed himself off the bed and was not surprised he couldn't remember how he'd gotten here. He'd been blacking otu a lot lately. Rather than being upset by the missing hours and sometimes days, Kai had come to appreciate the blackoutsthat kept him from remembering things too painful to think about.

He went into the adjoining bathroom and brushedhis fuzzy teeth, then rinsed with mouthwash, assuring himself that if he was really flirting with alcoholism, as some of his friends had suggested, he would of swallowed the stuff.

Although he usually tried to avoid, Kai made the mistake of looking into the mirror. He really did look like hell. Which exactly fit the way he felt.

The twinges of a impending headache began to stir behind his eyes. Having discovered the most effective way was to never get completely sober, he left the bedroom and headed towards the kitchen where he kept his liquor.

The rich aroma of beef cooking was even stronger out in the hall. "You're going freaking nuts" he told himself as he followed the wonderful scent. "other drunks see bats. You smell stew" Which was, he reminded himself , a lot better than the scent of Laura's cologne he'd not been able to get out of his mind.

The shock hit his system the moment he entered his kitchen. His clean kitchen. Where the purple haired woman was standing at the stove. If this was a hallucination, it was definately his weirdest one yet.

"What the hell?"


	3. Chapter 3

"what the hell?"

The woman turned, a wooden spoon in her hand "Oh, you're awake" she said greeting him with a warm smile as if there wasn't anything unusual about her ebing in his kitchen. "I hope you're hungry. I didn't know what you liked, but since you're a rancher, I thought beef would be a safe bet. And, of course, Stew is so nourishing, but if you'd rather-"

"Who the hell are you?" He demanded, entering the room on a long legged, angry stride. "And what do you think you're doing in my house?"

She'd been right, Amethyst though as she was forced to tilt her head a long way back to look up at the man hovering over her. Kai was definately tall.

"You don't remember?" Amethyst never enjoyed lying. However since most people tended to disbelive in the concept of fairy godmothers she'd learned to hedge.

"If I remembered, I wouldn't of asked"

"true" She gave him her sweetest, most reassuring smile "I came here earlier today. In answer to your ad"

"What ad? I didn't place any damn ad"

His low growl reminded her of a timber wolf. For a man who'd been unconcious only hours ago, he was definately radiating an excess of dangerous energy.

"Of course you did" When forced to lie, Amethyst did so blithely. "Let me get you a copy of the paper"

She went into the next room and blinked. An oversize leather handbag appeared on the dining room table.

"I know it's in here somewhere" She assured him as she began digging through the handbag.

"It not there because it doesn't exist"

"Of course it does"

Frustrated and wishing she'd chosen a smaller bag, she dumped the contents on the table and began digging through lipsticks, a compact, credit card receipts and...tampax? oh dear. That's what she got for wishing for the contents of a normal mortal woman's purse. Feeling the flush rising in her cheeks, she glanced over at the man who followed her into the dining room. But unlike her, he didn't seem perturbed by the female product.

"You were saying?" He asked arching a knowing brow at her.

"It's here" She insisted as she continued to sort through the , she decided as she put aside a roll of masking tape and two packs of chewing gum, if this is what the average woman had to lug around, she was definately grateful she wasn't mortal.

"Aha!" She held up the paper "eureka"

He took the piece of newsprint which appeared to have been torn from the Rim Rock Record's classified advertisment section.

"It's circled" She said helpfully "In red ink" Personally, she thought that was a nice touch, especially for such a quick effort.

Kai still had a bit of a buzz going on, but it didn't hamper his ability to focus on the ad in question "Wanted" He read out loud, "Housekeeper-Cook. Five days a week. Room and board furnished, salary negotiable" And then, right there in black and white was his name. And directions to the ranch outside Whisky River.

He looked down at her "Theres been a mix-up. I didn't place this"

"It's your name" Shesaid. As she leaned over to point it out to him he caught the scent of wildflowers and fresh spring rains. "And your address"

She had him there "I didn't place it" He insisted.

Once again Amethyst realised this wasn't going to be easy. She's foolishly hoped that he'd be so pleased with his clean house and home-cooked meal, he'd beg her to stay on. So much for that plan. Having always prided herself on her ability to improvise, Amethyst tried another tact.

"Oh dear" Amethyst felt a bit guilty as her eyes filled with moisture, but she felt the situation called for dramatic measures "If you're telling the truth..."

"I don't have any reason to lie damnnit"

"Well then" She twisted her hands together in front of her "If you honestly didn't place the ad..." Her voice drifted off. In what she thought was a very nice touch, a tear trailed down her cheek. "I don't know what I'm going to do"

Reminding himself that he wasn't responsible for her dilemma, Kai stelled himself against her tears

"I'd suggest you go back to town. Or whereever it is you came from. And try the next ad on your list"

"But you were my only hope" Since this was absolutely true, it wasn't necessary for Amethyst to fake the distress in her voice. "And I don't have any way to get back into town"

"How did you get all the way out her in the first place?"

"A nice man in a pick up gave me a lift" She figured that was safely vague enough.

He thought about giving her a lectureabout the dangers of hitch hiking, then decided she wasn't any of his damned business. "All right. I'll drive you back into Whiskey River"

"You don't understand" She persisted "I don't have anywhere else to since ou're obviously in desperate need of a housekeeper-"

"Look" His voice was sharp as a bull whip, stung. "Get this straight. I don't need anyone"

"That's not true"

"Are you calling me a liar?" That was definately the dumbest approach to winning a job he'd ever witnessed. But then again Kai reminded himself, he wasn't interviewing her for any damn job.

"I'm saying that someone with your name, who lives at this address placed a ad for a housekeeper" She lifted her chin and met his challenging gaze straight on.

"And high time" She continuted scathingly "Since I've never, in all my life, seen such a mess as yoru house was. And then, after I spent all day cleaningand scurbbing, not to mention fixing you a lovely dinner, you have the nerve to tell me it's all a mistake?"

He appeared unmoved by her irritation as much as he'd been by her tears "Where did you get the food?"

"What?"

"I Asked where, exactly, di you get the food to cook this lovely dinner?"

Amethyst wasn't at all pleased with the way he heaped extra scorn onto the word lovely. Instead of pressuring her in this way, He should be grateful she'd gone tot he trouble. She was, after all, next to Hollyhock, the very bext cook at Godmother central.

"Oh. Why, At the market of course"

"In Whisky River"

"Yes"

"Want to tell me how you got there? OR did some other friendly man give you a ride and back?"

For someone whose mind should have been dulled by drink, he was certainly being picky, Amethyst thought. Still extemporizing, she said "I brought some basics with me. You did say in the advertisement you wanted someone who could cook."

He stared at her for a long time "I Still don't remember placing any damn ad"

She could hear the beginning hint of doubt in his voice and realised her was about to give in. At least on this.

"I don't want to insult you" She said carefully "But it's obvious from all theempty bottles I picked up, that you've been doing a bit of drinking lately"

"Gee, and here I thought no one would notice" He drawled back.

He was not a pleasant man. Even after she him cleaned up, Amethyst feared it would not be easy to find him a wide. If she didn't posess such a trusting nature she might of suspected she'd been given this assignment in the hope she's wash out of the romance programme.

Determined that that not happen, she decided to try reason. "Obviously theres been some sort of mix up"

"That's what I've been trying to tell you"

"YEs. Well... Why don't we discuss it over dinner?"

As he opened his mouth to tel her that the only one with the problem around here was her, she went back over to the pot and lifted the lid, allowing a mouthwatering steam to escape. Then she took a loaf of fresh baked, golden topped bread out of the ove.

Hell. He could resist her apparent distress about not getting a job that didn't exist. He could turn his back on her sweet scent. He wondered for only a second if those wild, springly, purple curls were as soft as they looked and was able to tamp down the hunger stirred by the sight of her bending over the oven door in her short, plaid shirt.

Unfortunately, the first real food he's seen -or smelled- in weeks was irresistible.

"I'm not going to change my mind" He warned, suspecting a snare the way a wolf senses a trap buried in the forest.

"That's certainly your choice" She began spooning the stew into deep bowls he hadn't seen for days. Not since he ran out of cornflakes.

"BUt I will pay for the work you've already done"

That was only fair he decided, wondering how she could have made such in roads into the mess his house had beenin such a short amount of time.

She threw him a dazzling smile over her shoulder. "That's very kind of you. Why don't we discuss it after dinner?"

"Fine" He knew was she was doing and wasn't going to let it happen. He opened the refrigerator, found it stocked with food that hadn't been there earlier and pulled out a beer. "we'll settle it while I drive you back to Whiskey River"

"Whatever you like" She agreed without missing a beat.

It wasn't really a lie, Amethyst assured herself. Well perhaps, it was a little white one. But since it was for his own good, she conviently decided it didn't count


	4. Chapter 4

Humming softly beneath her breath, Amethyst several thick slices of bread, wih a serrated knife, then liberally spread one of them with creamy yellow butter. As he watched is melt, Kai could feel his mouth watering.

She put the bowls and the basket of bread on the table, she's set earlier. From the way he'd been staring at the food, Amethyst expected he'd immediately sit down and begin wolfingit down. Instead he stunned her by pulling out her chair.

They ate in silence for a time, Kai's attention was directed solely on his meal, while Amethyst watched him from beneath lowered lashes as her her own dinner.

"You're not a bad cook" He said after a while.

"Thank you" she smiled accross the table at him, wondering what he'd say if she'd told him that she'd once cooked dinner for Julius Ceasar.

"where'd you get the flowers?"

She'd put the arrangement of red and white carnations and holly in the centerof the table after cleaning of what had appeared to be months of newspapers.

"I found them in the grocery store. I thought they're add a little holiday spirit"

"Holiday?"

"You know. Christmas?"

"Oh, yeah"

His disinterest was easy to understand, she thought. Obviously, he wouldn't be looking forward to a season that celebrated family and the hope a baby brought into the world.

"I can take them away" She offered "If you don't like them"

"I don't care one way or another/ BUT I supposed you expect me to reimburse you for them too"

The temper that Amethyst had not known she possessed flared again. "Do you know" She said pointing her spoon at him "it's one thing to suffer a loss. I can understand how might not feel like being overly cheerful after the year you've had,. However, that is no excuse for ill manners"

His eyes narrowed, and pinned her with a cold, deadly look. "What the hell do you knowabout the year I've had?"

"well, it isn't exactly a secret" She replied. Actually, from what she'd readof the case in the file, that had magically appeared on the table beside her conjured-up bag, the death of Kai's married lover -whose husband had been reported to be the republican's great hope to regain the white house- had made headlines all over the world.

"Anyone ever tell you you're the master of understatement?" He said dryly. He'd been reaching for his beer but now his fist curled on the top of the table. "Hell they probably know about Laura's murder on mars"

He flinched as he said his sweethearts name and Amethyst's irritation was replaced by compassion. Allowing her heart to rule her head she reached over and placed her hand gently on his, covering his balled up fist.

"I'm sorry"

"You didn't kill her" he muttered

"No. But I wish I could bring her back for you"

He laughed at that, but the cold, wintery sound of it chilled her blood. "you and me both, Baby"

It was not often Amethyst allowed down to earth and when she was usually one of things she looked forward to the most was the amazing variety of foodshe was able to prepare and enjoy. But a dismal mood had settled over the room, like a depressing, wet gray fog. The stew had suddenly lost it's appeal and the bread now tasted like ashes in her mouth.

It did not escape her attention that Kai, too, seemed to have lost his appetite. He polished off the beer, went over to the refrigerator for another, then seemed to reconsider. He shut the door and instead pulled down a new bottle of vodka from the cupboard next to the stove.

"I'm not certain you should do that" she said quietly.

"what did you say your name was?" He snapped "Jimminy Cricket?"

"It's Amethyst" She said ignoring that concious crack. "And I was only suggesting that if you intend to drive me back down that twisting road to town, perhaps you should refrain from drinking any more alcohol" She had no intention of leaving, of course, but that wasn't the point at the moment.

"Now you sound like a public service advert" He tore the seal and unscrewed the cap. "Friends don't let friends drive drunk, isn't that how it goes?"

Although there was a rack of glasses beside him, he ignored them and took a swig directly from the bottle. While he swallowed, he kept his eyes on hers in what Amethyst understaood to be a challenge.

"Actually I'm amazed you have any friends left" She murmured

The vidka burned in a soothing, familiar sort of way. Soon, with any luck, not only would he not be able to drive, he wouldn't be able to think. To remember.

"My friends, or lack of them, aren't any of your business"

"True. But although I've been called reckless in my time, I'm not stupid enough to get into a truck with a man who's been drinking"

Unfortunately, she had a point. He had enough guilt on his conscience as it was. There was no way he wanted to risk killing this woman whose only crime had been to clean his house, cook him the best meal he'd had in months, hell perhaps ever, and still somehow manage to be a royal pain in the ass.

"I'll make you a deal"

"What?" She folded her arms across the front of her scarlet sweater embroidered with a trio of black scotties wearing plaid hair bows that matched her short skirt. The motion drew his attention to her breasts which, although not voluptuous, filled the sweater out nicely.

"I'll drink however much I want. But I'll give you the keys to the truck and you can drive yourself back to town."

"Then how will you get it back again?"

He shrugged. "Don't worry about that. I'll figure out a way"

"When you're sober"

He heard the censure in her tone and didn't like it."Yeah" He took another swig "When I'm sober"

Becoming more frustrated by the moment, Amethystdecided if Kai kept behaving like a bratty two year old, she was going to forget she'd ever felt sorry for him. "And when do you think that will be?" She asked. "sometime in the next millenium?"

His laugh was short and mirthless. "Anyone ever tell you you've got a smart mouth?"

"Anyone ever tell you that you're not the first person to lose someone you love?"

The accusation, which had flown off the tip of her tongue in frustration, scored a direct hit. She watched as a cold shadow moved over his crimson eyes and a muscle began to twitch in his cheek.

"Bulls-eye" he murmured.

They stood, a few feet apart staring at other. Amethyst wished she could take the incautious words back. She sighed feeling sorry that she'd wounded him, and guilty, that she was more concerned that he'd send her away, blowing her chance to remain in the romance ranks.

"I'm sorry" She murmured "I had no right to say that"

He shrugged "you don't have to apologise for speaking your mind. And you're right. I'm not the first man to lose the woman he loved. And I won't be the last"

"No. But that doesn't make it hurt any less"

"It's not going to work" He growled the brief truce suddenly broken again.

"What?"

Yeah, that nagging little voice in the back of his mind echoed, what the hell are you complaining about? Do you have a problem with the idea that a kind, seemingly generous, beautiful woman might actually give a damn wether or not you live or die? Kai ignored the faint voice of reason. AS he had for months.

"The sweetness and light routine" Hr said gruffly. "You could be freaking Mary Poppins and I still wouldn'tbe in the market for a housekeeper." He took another long drink, feeling a bit like a rebellious teenager daring his parents to ground him for bad behaviour.

Amethyst understood his defiance and refused to play along. While she was trying to figure out her next move, he dug into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out a roll of money which he held out to her.

"Is this enough?" he cursed when he recieved a blank look in return. "For the damn groceries. And your work."

She didn't count it, but since there was a hundred bill on top, she suspected it was more than generous. "Yes but-"

"Then thats it"

Kai was not normally rude, although admittedly even before Laura's murder he wouldn't have won any contests for Whiskey River's Mr. Congeniality. But there was something about this woman - an indefinable something that disturbed him more than he care to admit.

Determined to get her out of his hosue, he dug down into the pocket again and pulled out a set of keys. "Here. The trucks parked int he driveway. It's all yours"

"How do you know I won't just keep the truck?"

"What makes you think I give a damn?" He reached out, grabbed her hand, stuck the keys in it and then closed her fingers. "Go away whatever your name is-"

"Amethyst" She reminded him in a voice that was almost a whisper.

"Go away Amethyst. Theres nothing for you here"

Before she could argue further he put his arm around her shoulder and practically pushed her out kitchen door.

"I can't drive a truck"

"Don't worry it's a automatic. All you have to do is put it in drive and steer"

So much for that no other choice. Amethyst blinked and in her mind's eye watcjed the far side rear tire go flat.

"Is there something wrong with that tire?" She asked innocently

The mercury-vapor light on the side of the nearby garage cast a wide yellow glow that illuminated the tire she'd flattened. He followed her gaze and cursed ripely.

"Wait here. I'll get the spare."

That's what he thought. Another blink caused a entire string of curses.

"What's the matter?"

"The spares flat too"

"Oh dear"

Even though the comforting alcohol fog was beginning to settle over his brain once more, Kai thought he detected a insincere note in her calm tone.

He pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his shirt, lit one, and puffed thoughtfully as he submitted her to a long look. Her expression was one of absolute innocence but there was something not quite right, something he couldn't put his finger on that kept him from trusting her,

"You realise, of course, theres no way you're going to get downt hat mountain tonight"

Yiu don't have another spare?"

"no I'll have to fix this one in the morning"

"I'm sorry if I'm being a inconvience"

Kai knew, with every fiber of his being, that she was no sorry. Hwoever, he decidedthere was no point in calling her a liar. He'd simply let her spend the night then send her the hell on her way in the morning.

He cursed again. Then he turned and strode back towards the house. Trying to keep the smile of satisfaction of her face, Amethyst Followed him back into the kitchen.

"I don't suppose you happened to bring some clothes with you when you came to apply for that job that doesn't exist?"

"Actually I did"

He shook his head. "Why doesn't that surprise me? the bathrooms at the top of the stairs. The spare bedroom is the first door on the left."

"Thank you-"

"Just don't get too comfortable" He snarled "Because you'll be leaving in thee morning"

"I've always heard about western hospitality"Amethyst felt as she felt her temper beginning to simmer again "But it's so illuminating to see it in action"

"I never invited you here in the first place" He reminded her "So techincally, you're not a guest"

"Point taken" She eyed the bottle he'd picked up again "Why don't I make some coffee before I do the dishes?" She suggested.

"I don't want any damn coffee. As for the dishes, leave them"

"But-"

"look, Lady-"

"Amethyst" She reminded him helpfully.

"Look Amethyst, the dinner was great. Better than great. It was world class. And you seem a very nice woman. You're also kind of cute, and, as a bonus, you smell real good too. In fact I'm sure, under other circumstances, you'd be real dandy company.

"But you have to understand that I've had about all the conversation I can handle for one night. And right now, if you don't mind, I'd just like to be left alone"

Deciding that having won the evening skirmish, she could tackle the war in the morning Amethyst decided to do as he asked.

"Of course" She agreed mildly.

Kai followed her into the living room, where she picked up a large overnight bag he could of sworn hadn't been there when he'd come though the room on the way to the kitchen earlier.

Deciding he was definately losing it, Kai went into the living room, where he sat in the dark, with only his new best friend, Vodka for company and proceeded to get quietly and desperately drunk.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

In the morning it was the smell of coffee that woke him. Dark, rich and alluring, it teased at his senses, offering blessed relief for the headache that was pounding behind his eyes. As first Kai thought he must be dreaming. Then, as he heard the clatter of pots and pans coming from the kitchen, he remembered the woman who'd shown up yesterday in answer to that ad he'd never placed in the Rim Rock Record.

As he had the night before, he followed the aroma and discovered her standing in front of the open refrigerator door. Today's outfit was a christmas red sweater, and pair of matching leggings that accentuated her legs, which were, he admitted reluctantly, damn good. Her hair, tumbling down her back nearly to her waist, was a riot of untamed curls that glistened like purple dust in the morning sunlight streaming through the window.

"That coffee smells good" He said.

His voice obviously startled her; she jumped and dropped the eggs she's just taken from the cardboard container. "Oh no!"

Amethyst watched in dismay as the eggs broke, turning into a sticky goo on the clean floor. She was about to blink the mess away when she realised Kai was watching her. She turned on him, her heart pounding wildly. "You scared me to death, sneaking up on me like that!"

Her eyes were wide and startled, reminding Kai of a skittish doe caught in his truck headlights. "Sorry, I guess I should ask permission before coming into my own kitchen"

His tone, laced with it's usual sarcasm, only irritated her further. "I see you aren't any more pleasant in the morning than you are at night"

"Then you should be happy you're leaving this morning"

"I've had easier assignments" she muttered, glaring down at the mess at her feet. Since he didn't look like as if he were going to leave the room any time soon, she realised she was actually going to have to clean the stick stuff up the mortal way. By hand.

Muttering a low curse beneath her breath, she yanked a handful of paper towels from the wooden holder, knelt down and began sponging.

Kai watched her for a moment, told himself that the gentlemanly thing to do would be to help her out, then decided if he encouraged her even the slightest bit, she might try to talk him into letting her stay. Which was, of course, out of the question.

He stepped over the broken eggs, took a mug down from the rack, poured a cup of the coffee and took a tentative sip. It was black as midnight and strong, just the way he liked it.

"This isn't bad" he said.

She was about to snap back that she was ever so please he approved when she realized his tone had been almost friendly. She glanced a long, long way up, looking for some sense of what he was thinking. But his expression was as unreadable as ever and if the eyes were indeed windows to the man's soul, he'd pulled down the shadesto keep anyone from getting a glimpse.

"Thank you"

"you're welcome"

She continued to look up at him in the hope he'd say something else. Anything else. Such as since she's made the best coffee he'd ever tasted , perhaps she'd liked to stay after all and make it for him every morning.

His beard was heavier this morning, creating a dark shadow on his haggard cheeks that echoed the dark, purplish shadows beneath his eyes. His heair looked as if it had been combed by thrusting his fingers through it and he was wearing the same clothes he'd had on last night. Obviously he had gotten drunk again after she'd left him alone.

"I thought I'd fixwaffles this morning" She said bestowing her cheeriest smile on him. Even Devil Anse Hatfield , had not been able to resist it's charm. "unless you'd rather have hotcakes"

An image flashed into his mind - a image of the last morning he and Laura had spent together. He'd come downstairs after a shower to find her standing at the stove, wearing a frilly apron - and nothing else- flipping hotcakes. The smile she'd flashed over her shoulder at him had been even more provocative than her outfit and he'd taken her, right on the biscuit -hued kitchen counter with a passion that had left them both breathless.

Later when the blare of the smoke alarm and the billowing gray clouds of smoke revealed the pancakes had turned to charcoal, they'd both laughed.

"Oh well" Laura had said as she'd dumped the charred breakfast into the trash, "After tonight we'll have lots more chances to have breakfast together"

"A lifetime" He'd agreed as he'd kissed her sweet, smiling lips. The following morning she was gone. Her life cut tragically short. The memory caused ragged claws of pain and regret to rip at his insides.

"I'd rather you just stop trying to be frigging Donna Reed" He growled.

He swallowed the coffee in long gulps, and the, although he desperately needed a drink, he reminded himself that the goal this morning was to get this sweet smelling interloper out of his house. And his life. That being the case, he'd have to stay sober enough to drive her into town. Then, once she was gone, he could lose himself in the bottle.

After the way he'd wolfed down last night's stew, Amethyst had hoped the way to Kai's heart might be through his stomach. Unfortunately, that didn't seem to be the case.

She sighed as he left the kitchen, slamming the door behind him. She had not a single doubt that he'd have the spare tire fixed within minutes. And since he was sober, she couldn't even refuse to drive to Whiskey River with him. Looking down at the gooey mess she'd made, she wondered mortal women managed to keep a household running without magic. She blinked and was relieved when it disappeared. The she stood up and went over to the window and watched as Kai took the flat tire off the truck.

The sky overhead was a bright blue bowl, forecasting a clear day. Amethyst lifted her hand and made a wide, swirling motion. Dark clouds suddenly appeared on the horizon and the red mercury line on the thermometer outside the window dropped dramatically as the swirling clouds swept towards whisky river. Moments later, the first blizzard of the season had begun.

"What the hell?" Kai looked up in surprise as he was suddenly hit in the face by wind driven snow. He might not be as coherent lately as he'd once been buit he knew damn well the sun had been shining when he'd come out here.

Now it was snowing so hard he could barely see the house only a few yeards away. And it felt like the freaking north pole. Having lived in Arizona all his life, Kai was used to unpredictable weather. But he'd never witnessed such a rapid drop in temperature; not even during the summer monsoon season when thunderstorms tended to hit the rim like speeding frieght trains.

He'd barely gotten the third lug nut off when his fingersfelt as if they were about to turn into ice. Cursing ripely he surrendered the battle and marched back toward the house. Any storm that hit this fast would be on it's way to the next county within the hour. Then he could come back outside, finish repairing the tire and get rid of little miss sunshine or whatever her name was.

She was setting the pine table when he walked in the door. "I thought I'd serve breakfast in here"she said, behaving as if he hadn't already told her he didn'twant anything. "Unless you'd rather eat in the dining room-"

"You don't get it do you?"

"Get what?"

"I don't want to eat in the kitchen. Or the dining room. I don't want breakfast, I don't want a housekeeper and I definately don't want some clumsy scatterbrained woman hanging around my house. Even if she can make a decent cup of coffee"

"And stew" she reminded him "With dumplings"

Was she deaf? Or screwed up in the head? He remembered a kid in high school who'd gotten kicked in the head by a horse. Although he'd suvived, Billy Young had never been the same again. Talking to him had been like talking to a wall, Kai remembered.

"you ever ride a horse?"

"No although I've always wanted to. They seem like such wonderful animals. Why?"

He shrugged. "You remind me of someone I used to know"

"Oh" Amethyst gave him another of those winsome smiles. "The waffles are already made" she coaxed "Would it hurt you to eat them. It seems like such a waste to throw them out"

Another thing growing up in ranching country had taught him, along with expecting erratic weather, was to be frugal. Since the cow business wasn't all that profitable - at least it never had for Kai, He had learned from a early age never to throw anything away. Most things could be repaired or remade into something else. Or you just did without. Her words struck a responsive chord.

"Wouldn't want to be accused of letting good food go to waste" He muttered as he went over to the sink to wash his hands. After he rinsed off the lather, he turned intending to tear a paper towel only to find Amethyst standing beside him handing out a cotton dish towel.

"how did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"A second ago you were over by the stove. And now you're here"

"A Second ago you was by the door. And now you're here" She returned.

Good Point. But he remembered walking accross the room. For the life of him he couldn't remember seeing her move.

"It's hard to concentrate with a head" she said with sympathy. She put a hand on his arm. "Why don't you sit down and I'll pour you a refill"

Her hand looked as smooth as porcelain, her fingers were long and slender, her nails unpainted. For a fleeting moment, Kai imagined how that hand might feel upon his body, which had gone so many months without a woman's touch. Then feeling guilty for being unfaithful to Laura -albeit only in his thoughts- he firmly closed his mind to the unbidden notion.

Not wanting to let her insinuate herself further into his life, yet unable to resist her offer of more coffee, Kai moved away from her light touch and sat down at the table. Although her expression remained polite, he thought he detected a glimpse of triumph in her gaze.

She placed the stack of waffles in front of him.

"Aren't you going to have anything?" He asked when sheremianded standing beside him.

"Oh I really don't think that's a good idea"

"Why not"

"Well you're the employer. And I'm just the housekeeper"

"You're not the housekeeper. You're not going to BE the housekeeper. And I'd rather have you sitting across the tabkle than hovering over me while I'm trying to eat"

"I wasn't hovering over you"

"Of course you were. Now get a place and sit down"

It was a order. Softly couched, but carved in stone, Amethyst saw no point in arguing. She took a plate down from the shelf, a knife and a fork from the drawer and sat down at the table across from him.

"that's better" He stabbed a whole wheat waffle and deposited it on her playe. Then he drenched his own in maple syrup and took a bite. "It's pretty good" He said torn between the need to compliment her and the reluctance to encourage her.

"Thank you. Of course, if the contents of your cupboards were any indication, it's been a while since you had any home cooking. Good or bad"

"Got me there" he said agreeably.

Kai kind of liked the way she talked back to him. She wasn't as easily intimdated as many of the fine citizens of Whisky River. Although he'd always been pretty much the loner of the town and the few friends he did have had been tiptoeing around him as if they were afraid to say anything that might depress him.

"It looks as if we're in for quite a store" Amethyst said with a glance towards the window where the driven snow had reduced visibilty to nearly zero.

Kai glared out at the white stuff being whipped against the glass. "It'll pass" he muttered "It always does"

Amethyst didn't argue with that. Nor did she agree. But Kai found the faint smile hovering at the corner of her lips suspicous all the same. As he and Amethyst had done last night, they finished their meal in silence. When he leaned back and lit a cigarette Amethyst took it as a sign he was done and began clearing the table.

"I haven't figured out why yet, but for some reason you're determined to worm your way into my life, aren't you?"

His tone and expression irked Amethyst. "You've such a way with words. And why would your life, which you seemed willing to throw away, be any of my business?"

"Good question. Are you saying I'm mistaken?"

"No"

"I'm saying you're dead wrong"

IT was admittedly, an out and out lie. But she didn't believe he was ready for the truth.

"All right" He blew out a plume of smoke. "Let me rephrase it then. How about, You're determined to worm your way into my house."

"That isn't much better. But it's closer" She met his steady, challenging gaze. "I told you last night" she said softly "I have no where else to go"

"You don't have any family?"

"No"

"No husband, kids?"

"No"

She did not add that was one of the downsides to being a fairy godmother.

"how about lovers?"

The way he was suddenly looking at her, as if seeing her as a woman for the first time, made Amethyst suddenly very nervous. Her skin warmed beneath the unwavering gaze and although she was certain it must be her imagination, it seeemed the pulse in the base of her throat had suddenly trebled it's beat.

"No" she tried to drag her eyes from his and found herself inescapably snared by that appraising crimson gaze. "No?" He shook his head. "Baby, the guys must be all dead from the waist down from where you come from"

It was not a compliment but her body decided to take it as one. "I wouldn't know about that" She murmured "Would you like some more coffee?"

He ignored her offer. "What would you do" He asked instead "If I told you that you could have the job?"

"Really?" her eyes lit up with a pleasure that made him almost feel guilty for what he was about to say. "Do you mean it?"

"I never say anything I don't mean" He rubbed his chin and continued to smoke as he gave her a deliberately slow persual from the top of her gilt head down to her feet, clad in a pair of high top trainers with scarlet laces. "Ask anyone"

His gaze returned to her face which was still flushed with pleasure. He wondered idly how pleased she'd be when she heard the rest of his offer.

"You already know about Laura"

"Yes" She nodded. The Sympathetic shadow in her gleaming eyes created another prick of guilt Kai steadfastly ignored. "You must of loved her a great deal"

"I did" He took another long drag on his cigarette "Needless to say I haven't been up to rejoining the dating game these past few months"

"Oh I can understand that" She rushed over , sat down and took his hand in hers "It's not easy, getting back into the swing of things"

Pleased with how the conversation was going Amethyst was tempted to explain her presence here in Whiskey River. What a relief is would be for Kai to learn he wasn't going to have to go searching for a new love becauseit was her job to findone for him!He looked down at their linked fingers - his dark, hers as pale as the snow that was falling outside- as felt a strange pull that was quite sexual, but disturbing just the same.

"The thing is" he continued, ignoring this new feeling as he'd ignored the guilt. "Celibacy can get a little monotonous, if you know what I mean. So althoguh I've never stopped to paying a women, I supposed I could make a exception" He paused , watching for his words to sink in. "In your case"

"I don't understand" She spoke slowly, her wide, innocent eyes on his. "Are you actually offering to pay meto make love to you?"

"No"

"oh" the single word was expelled on a long breath. Her relief was so paspable, Kai felt as if he could reach out and touch it,

"This doesn't have anything to do with love. I'm talking about sex. Since you need a place to stay and I'll admit to getting damn horny, the logical thing for us to do is work out a deal that solves both our problems"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Amethyst was not a absolute innocent. Several centuries of observing the inhabitants of the world had allowed her to witness everything -goog and evil- that human beings did to, and with, one another. She should not have been shocked when Kai took her for a prostitute, but she was both shocked and hurt.

"I can't believe you said that"

She looked so distressed and her voice was trembling so that Kai, who'd decided the ad was a ruse, almost apologised. She was such a damn good actress, He was sure Hilary had to be at the bottom of this deception. Even though Laura's younger sister had left Hollywood after inheriting Swann Ranch, she still wrote screenplays and the occasional made-for-television movie. She'd know lots of would-be starlets who'd be willing to go to bed for a part. Or even rent money.

He was a little disappointed that Hilary, who knew better than anyone how much he'd loved Laura, would think that a warm female body in his bed would make up for all he'd lost. But then again she's lived in Tinseltown for a long time, maybe amoung the lotus eaters, Sex wasn'ttaken so seriously.

"It was Hilary wasn't it?" he asked, deciding toget the game playing over with.

"Hilary?" Amethyst asked blankly.

"She's the one who hired you. She's the one who sent you here."

"I told you, I came because of that ad-"

"Yeah, the one in the Rim Rock record" That brought up another possibility. "Which means Tysona had to be in on the scheme too"

"Tyson?"

"Tyson Granger. He's publisher of the paper" He was also a old friend. "He's getting married to Noel Giraudeau"

"Princess Noel Giraudeau?"

The stunning blonde, the papparazzi had dubbed the Ice Princess had once gone on a photo safari with the Princess of Wales, Amethyst remembered the occasion all too well because when the Prince of Wales had opted out of the trips at the last minute, AMethyst had harbored doubts about his commitment to what she's hoped was a true love match. WIth the crystal clear view of hindsight, Amethyst realised she should of given up on the relationship right then.

"Yeah"

"From what I've seen - in the papers-" Amethyst said quickly as his eyes narrowed again. "The Princess seems to be a lovely woman"

"Inside and out" Kai confirmed, his expression softening slightly at the mention of the woman who'd expressed such concern for him over these past months. "And since I don't think she'd agree to the scheme, Hilary and Tyson must of done it on their own" He was also certain Hilary's new husband, Rei Kon, would not have had anything to do with such a illegal arrangement. Although he admittedly hadn't been thinking all that clearly in those days immediately following Laura's death, the one thing that had sunk in was that the Whiskey River's sheriff definately took his job seriously.

"i'm not a prostitute" she lifted her chin. "And I definately didn't come here to have sex with you"

He gave her another long look. Just when Amethyst's nerves were at breaking point he shrugged. "Too bad"

Before she could come up with a response to that, he stood up, pulled his shearling-lined jacket from a hook on the wall and shrugged into it.

"Where are you going?"

He threw her a look over his shoulder "I figured I'd go out and feed the horses. Unless you've changed your mind about the sex?"

"No" She bit her lip to keep from asking him to please be patient. Just a little longer.

As he watched her small white teeth worrying that soft pink flesh, Kai felt the old age attraction of male for female and decided it was definately time to leave.

"Too bad" He repeated, then left the cozy warmth of the kitchen.

As she watched him disappearing into the swirling white snow, Amethyst closed her eyes and wished, for a fleeting moment, that she was a mortal woman. One who could take him to his bed and soothe the pain that never left his haunted eyes. A ragged pain she feared he could feel all the way to his soul.

Minutes passed. Although she was admittedly a little out of practise when it came to computing earth time when the grandfather clock in the front room tolled the hour on a pleasing peal of westminster chimes, Amethyst was sure Kai had been outside far too long. Standing at the window, she shut out the blizzard and tried desperately to focus on him. But there was nothing. Only a deep black void behind her lids that changed to a blurry white world when she opened her eyes.

"Whats wrong?" she wondered outloud. She glanced up, half expecting an answer, disappointed when none was forthcoming. "Why can't I see him?"

A though occured to her, more chilling than the weathe. What if he'd done what he was about to do when she'd first arrived? What if he'd killed himself? Or even worse, what if he'd shot himself but was still alive, barely clinging on to existance, his life force slowly draining away, so weak she was unable to sense it?

Making romantic matches that failed was a bad enough stain on her permement record. There was no way Amethyst was going to allow a assigment to die. And even as she ran out into the snow in search of him, she knew that her need to find Kai, to save him, went a great deal deeper than mere duty.

The Icy wind whipped away his name as soon as it escaped her lips. Unaccustomed to mortal form, She's forgotten about the need for any kind of overcoat and desperately tried to recall the temperature at which human man blood froze.

She conjured up a vision of a jacket, the twin of kai's shearling-lined one, blinked and was bother suprised and troubled when she didn't immediately find herself wrapped in it's warmth. She blinked again. Nothing.

Distressed and confused, she waved her ice-cold hand, deciding that her only hope was to stop the blizzard. But the snow continued to drift down like feathers shaken from a huge down pillow overhead and the temperature continued to drop.

As much as she longed for the safety and warmth of the house, Amethyst was even more concerned about Kai's safety. Her feet felt like blocks of ice and as she made her way through the drifting white snow, hopefully in the direction he had taken, she found it more and more differcult to keep her legs moving.

She fell once, stumbling to her knees in a deep drift. She pushed herself to her feet and kept on going. After stumbling a second time, it was even more differcult to stand up but she made it. Only to fall a third time.

"Damn you Kai." She muttered on something between a sob and a wail. "I've never, in all my life, been given such a impossible assignment"

She wasn't going to fail, Amethyst assured herself as she struggled to her feet again and continuted trudging forward. Now the wind was blowing ice in her face that stung like needles against her cheeks. She began to wonder if she'd gone the wrong way. Surely the barn wasn't this far from the house?

She looked around her but saw nothing but a white curtain in all directions. She made a cone out of her hands and called out his name. But as before , the only answer was the howl of the wind in the tops of the whitefrosted pine trees.

Disorientated, she tried to remember the direction she'd seen him take when he'd left the kitchen but she was exhausted from the cold and effort and discouragement.

She cried out as she stumbled over a downed tree that had been buried by the snow. Snow she'd thought she'd been oh-so-clever in stirring up in the first place. She was on her hands and knees when she realised she had no strength to go another foot. She sank back into the snowbank feeling more along than she'd ever felt in her life.

Sunny was far from alone. Two fairy godmothers - one tall and spare, the other short and pleasingly plump- watched her desperate struggles.

"Are you certain this is the thing to do?" Andromeda asked "It's been a very long time sinc eht girl has visited earth, it's obvious she's forgotten mortal survival skills"

"She won't need them" Harmony said with her usual unwavering confidence.

"But perhaps if we could slow the storm-"

"No" The smile gracing the face of the legendary fairy godmother was almost beatific. "Amethyst was the one who conjured up the storm. She was the one who asked to be mortal. She'll have to learn to live with the consequences"

"Then she will live?"

"Of course. I have very special plans for our Amethyst. Plans that will solve both our problems"

Harmony's smile widened and her eyes danced marrily. It had been a long time since she'd experienced the joys of a seemingly impossible assignment. She's always believed in going out while you're on top, whcih was why she'd retired after the prince had taken pretty, sweet, admittedly dim little Cindy to his palace, where they had gone on to live happily ever after.

Kai Hiwatari was definately no prince. At least not the chivalrous knight-in-shining-armor type that filled the gilt edged pages of fairy tale books. But Harmony knew him to be a special man, imbued with a steely integrity and capable of a deep and abiding love love, even if he believed he had no more love to give.

the trick was to find him a equally special woman, a brave, intelligant resouceful woman. One spirited enough to stand up to him and patient enough to prove to his that he was better than he thought he was.

Who better than Amethsyt to tempt and torment him even as she taught him to trust again?

"I still wonder if we should have told her the truth" Andromeda continued to fret. Such worry was uncharacteristic but Amethyst was a special case. Although she tried not to become emotionally attentioned tot he students who were assigned to her for a brief time before moving up in the hierarchy, it had been impossible not to grow fond of the alkways optimistic open hearted fairy godmother.

"It's better this way"

"But what if she actually manages to make a match? What if she matches Kai with the wrong woman? She has ahistory of doing that"

"Ah but she isn't the one making this match" Harmony reminded her long time friend "I am"


	7. Chapter 7

Kai was on his way back to the house when he nearly tripped over Amethyst. "What the hell are you doing out here?" He demanded as he scooped her out of the snow bank.  
>"I was trying to rescue you" She said without a instants hesitation.<br>Kai cursed inwardly. "Who do you think you are lady? My guardian angel?"  
>Amethyst latched onto his words, not noticing that they'd been ground out through clenched teeth. Relieved he was the one who'd brought up the subject , Amethyst decided to tell him the truth. If Kai could accept the fact that she only had his best interests at heart, he'd undoubtedly be more willing to accept the woman she chose for him.<br>As they entered the house, she smiled her warmest, most beguiling smile. A smile designed to assure him that he was in good hands. "Actually since you brought it up, thats close. Actually, I'm your fairy godmother"  
>Hell she was either buts, or being out in that blizzard had frozen some brain cells.<br>"How stupid of me not to have recognized you right off the bat" He drawled as he plunked her down on a kitchen chair. "I suppose my only excuse is that I mistook you for Glenda, the Good Witch"  
>Amethyst's spirits sagged. The Warmth she'd begun to feel in her veins upon entering the room faded. "You don't believe me"<br>"What's not to believe? Doesn't everyone have a fairy godmother?" The sarcasm in his voice ecohed that in his Icy crimson eyes.  
>"OF course they do, but-"<br>"So Where are your glided wings?"  
>Although she knew his question was meant to be rhetorical, she decided to answer it anyway. "Now you're referring to guardian Angels. I'm a Fairy-"<br>"Godmother. Yeah, We've already established that. So, what happens now? Do I get three wishes?"  
>"That's a genie"<br>"Boy, you guys are specialized, aren't you? Next thing you'll be telling me that you've gotten together and formed unions and the like"  
>"It's understandable that you'd have a differculty accepting the idea. But there's no reason to be nasty"<br>Kai's head was still pounding from all the vodka he'd drunk the evening before. He was the closest thing to sober he'd been in weeks and he wasn't enjoying the way it felt. Still, he admitted, just because he was suffering the mother of all hangovers was no reason to take it out on her.  
>"You're right. I apologise."<br>The thing to do he decided, was warm her up, wait out the storm, then get her out of his house -and his life- as soon as possible. The more he allowedhimself to be drawn into conversation , the more he'd be in danger of her dragging him back into the world of the living. The world that has just yesterday he'd wanted to leave.  
>"You could fo frozen to death out there" He said "It's understandable you're confused"<br>Amethyst wasn't confused. At least not about who and what she was. Although, if she was perfectly honest, there was something abotu Kai's closeness, that stimulated strange, unfamiliar feelings. How was it, she wondered, that he could make her feel safe and unsettled all at the same time?  
>"I do feel a little strange" She admitted reluctantly. As his fairy godmother, she was supposed to be the one in charge here. Somehow, when she hadn't been paying close attention, things had definately gotten out of hand.<br>Her soft voice wrapped around him like a velvet glove. Gazing down into her eyes, which were twin pools of confusion, and something else he couldn't read, Kai felt that sensual hunger stir again.  
>Damn her! Didn't she realise that no woman in her right mind would look at a man that way, unless she wanted him to the way his mutinous body was responding?<br>Since she didn't seem in danger of dying from exposure, he wondered how the lady might respond if he suggested warming her up by taking her to bed where they could spend the rest of the snowy day driving each other crazy.  
>Crazy. That was, of course, definately the word. Given the fact she was claiming to be his fairy godmother was proof that she was one T-Bone short of a steak fry. If that wasn't reason enough to keep his distance, the fact that he was even considering having sex with a total stranger who'd shown up at his front door proved that he was as nuts as she was.<br>"You'd better get out of those wet clothes" He muttered, backing away from her.  
>Although she was a great deal warmer than when he'd found her, Amethyst still fell horribly disoriented. Of course, part of that could be because of how he was looking at her. His icy cromson eyes, as they'd roamed over her face, had made her feel both hot and cold at the same time. She's reached the top of the stairs when she belatedly realised she was reacting to Kai like a mortal woman and suddenly remembered the impulsive wish she'd made right before rushing out into the storm. She'd wished to be a real, mortal woman. Could it be possible that somehow, her wish had been granted?<br>She went into the bedroom and looked at the suitcase she'd conjured up last night. It was about ten feet away, next to an overstuffed easy chair.  
>"Okay. Here goes" Concentrating as hard as she could, she blinked, intending to move the suitcase. When it remained steadfastily where it was, she tried again. Nothing.<br>"Oh no"  
>Amethyst sank down onto the bed as comprehension sank in. Now what? She cast a desperate glance upwards.<br>"Please" She whispered "I didn't mean it. Not really"  
>She was not surprised when no answer was forthcoming. Not having any idea what to do next, Amethyst buried her face in her hands and began to weep. Kai heard her sobswhen he reached the top of the stairs. Terrific. Thats all he needed. As it if wasn't bad enough, being stuck with a crazy woman who stirred up feelings he'd thought he'd buried with Laura, now he was confonted with a female in tears.<br>He stood in the open doorway; since her hands were covering her face , he was free to watch her undetected. She was sitting on the bed, her wet hair hanging over her shoulders, which were shaking with her wrenching sobs.  
>Pity stirred. Followed by desire which reminded Kai exactly how long it had been since he'd touched a woman. Telling himself that the unruly feelings he'd been experiencing were nothing more than a basic case of horniness, he cleared his throat and entered the room.<br>"I brought you some tea"  
>Amethyst's hands dropped to her lap. HEr eyes flew open. "Tea?"<br>"Good thing you picked some up at the store yesterday"  
>"Yes" HE wasn't the only one who was suprised, Amethyst couldn't remember blinking any tea into the pantry. Reminding herself she wasn't exactly thinking clearly, She said "That was lucky"<br>"I didn't know how you like it but I added some sugar"  
>"Thank you" She took the cup he pratically shoved at her. "That's very considerate of you" Drawn by the aroma of the orange spiced tea, she took a tentative sip and found it delicious.<br>"This is wonderful"  
>"It's just a teabag"<br>"I know" She smiled up at him "But you've no idea how, given the right circumstances, even tea can taste like ambrosia"  
>"You must go nuts over champagne"<br>"I wouldn't know. Since I've never had any" She blew slightly, creating ripples in the dark, amber drink, then took another, longer, sip. Kai was about to suggest that they'd have to remedy that, when he managed to clamp his teeth together just in time.  
>"After you finish that tea, I'll go heat up last night's stew"<br>"Are you offering to fix me lunch?" That was such a turnaround from his previous behaviour, Amethyst couldn't believe she'd heard him correctly.  
>"I'd have the cook do it, but it's her day off. SO I guess that leaves me"<br>"That's very nice of you" He wasn't really the unpleasant man he tried so hard to be, Amethyst decided.  
>"Believe me, sweetheart, I'm never nice"<br>"That's right" Now that Amethyst was used toit, she found herself unfazed by his warning glare.  
>"You're just trying to avoid having to explain to the sheriff how I starved to death in your house"<br>"Got it on the first try"  
>Kai felt the corners of his mouth twitch, As he left the bedroom, he passed the mirror and was stunned to see himself smiling.<br>He wasn't the only one. Watching his reflection in the hall mirror, Amethyst experienced a rush of pleasure so strong she almost laughed. She'd known he was a much gentler, kinder man than he appeared to be.  
>Unfortunately, although she suspected he'd argue the point, Laura had not been Kai's destiny. But the right woman was out there somewhere. All Amethyst had to do was find her. By the time she'd finished her tea, taken a hot showerand changed into some dry clothes, Amethyst had regained her optimistic outlook on life. Refusing to believe that her superiors would of abandoned her here in this world without any magical powers, she'd come to the conclusion that somehow, her close brush with mortal death had affected her ability to tap into them. "It's only a temporary glitch" She assured herself as she went downstairs to the kitchen "It'll pass"<br>It had to. Because given Kai's less than cooperative attitude, she was going to need all the help she could get. 


	8. Chapter 8

"you're not going to leave her alone down there?" Andromeda asked, stunned by Harmony's pronouncement that she'd done all she intended to do.  
>"Amethyst will be fine" Harmony appeared unruffled.<br>"But you've taken away her magic"  
>"I've taken away her powers to change the physical world around her" the older woman agreed "but, never fear, I've left her with all the magic she needs"<br>"what magic is that?"  
>"her kind and generous spirit. Any man would be a fool bot to fall in love with such a warmhearted woman"<br>"Kai Hiwatari isn't just any man"  
>"His own heart was once as open as Amethyst's. It can be again. With her encouragement"<br>"I still don't understand. After all you did for Cinderella-"  
>"I get so tired of hearing about her" Harmony snapped uncharacteristically "Cindy was a an unrelentingly sweet girl. But she wasn't exactly the most assertive young woman on the planet. Or the most intelligant"<br>"Yet she attracted the love of Prince Charming"  
>"As I said, she was sweet. And beautiful. But it took a great deal of work to get those two together. They were not" she confided " A perfect match"<br>"Then why-"  
>"All right" Harmony sighed heavily "I suppose it won't hurt for you to know the truth after all these years. However, you must promise to keep the story to yourself. Id hate to encourage any of our new apprentices to behave so rashly"<br>"You could never be rash"  
>"That's what I thought. Until Sleeping Beauty awakened"<br>"What?" Andromeda stared at her idol. "What does Sleeping Beauty got to do with Cinderella? Or for that matter, Amethyst?" "This is going to be a long story" Harmony warned. "We might as well be comfortable"  
>With a single blink she transported both women from the computer centre to a lovely white wrought iron bench beneatha flowering apple tree in the contemplation garden. Nearby a trio of fairies splashed gaily in the fountain, their transparent wings shimmering like gold dust in the morning sunshine.<br>She gathered her skirts around her. Her round face grew solemn. "Once upon a time" She began...

Kai tilted the kitchen chair back, sipped his vodka and glared out at the snow, which was continuing to fall outside the window. It was turning out to be one hellavu storm, especially for one that hadn't even been predicted. At least none of his stock would freeze thanks to Mariah.  
>He frowned as he thought of the woman who, in what seemed like another lifetime, had been his sister in law for less than a day. Lord knows, Mariah had had her owntroubles. Troubles that had caused her to leave Whisky River and become estranged from her sister for a decade. If it wasn't so tragic, he might fo found it ironic that she'd returned home just hours too late to mend fences. During the investigation, she'd been the only one who'd believed in his innocence, and who'd understood at least somewhat, how he was suffering. She'd managed to put the murder behind her, had even married the sheriff, whose job it had been to arrest him, and now Kai knew he was causing her additional pain.<br>Two weeks ago she'd dropped by to suggest that her crew round up his cattle along with her own stock, and take hem down the mountain to more temperate winter had been her excuse and since he hadn't given any thought to the matter Kai had accepted her offer and thanked her for thinking it.  
>But now he realized that as real as her concern for his cattle had been, work had not been the only thing on her mind that day. Her real reason for visiting had been to try and shake him out of the depression. Unfortunately, all she'd done was make him feel more guilty. The memory of the concern on her lovely face was enough to make him want to refill his glass.<br>"It's lovely isn't it" A soft voice behind him offered.  
>His fingers tightened on that glass as he glanced over his shoulder "What?"<br>"The snow. It's like a fairyland"  
>"Her smile lit up her eyes to a shining purple.<br>"You should know he tossed back the vodka enjoying the way it burned down his throat. "Since you're a fairy godmother"  
>She sighed as she walked past him to stand by the window. "I made a mistake telling you that" she murmured, seemingly as much to herself as to him. "I should of given you more time to get used to the idea"<br>HE might not be at his best these days, but he was sure as hell wasn't so far gone that he'd lost complete touch with reality. "Sweetheart, you could give me till next millenium and I woudln't believe that story"  
>She exhaled another soft, shimmering sigh. She'd changed into a petal pink sweater and matching legging. Beneath the fluffy wool her shoulders were slumped making her look almost as depressed as he felt. But as he watched, she squared them decisively and turned around. "Isn't it a little early in the day to begin drinking?"<br>"Isn't it a little early int he day to begin nagging?" He countered. He was tempted to refill his glass again just to show her he could. But sensing this was a challenge of sorts, he resisted. "Shouldn't you be resting?"  
>"I'm fine. Really" She insisted when he appeared skeptical. "I'm much hardier than I look"<br>Which was a good thing Kai decided. Since right now she looked a lot like the cotton candy he used to buy at the county fair when he was a kid. Soft and pink and completely edible.  
>A Silence settled over them as they started across the room at each other. Amethyst was the first to blink and she lowered her eyes to the table. When she saw what was lying next to the now empty glass, her face went as white as the snow drifting down outside the window.<br>"You weren't thinking-"  
>"No" He picked up the revolver he'd brought in from the living room earlier , opened it and spun the cylinder. "It's unloaded"<br>Her relief was palpable. She made her way over to the table on legs that felt like they'd turned to water and sank down onto the chair accross from him. "I'm sorry I really don't mean to nag but-"  
>"You don't want to be left with the job of scraping my brains off the wall behind the stove"<br>Color flooded her cheeks. "Thats'a cruel thing to think. And a cruel thing to say"  
>He felt a stab of guilt as he saw the hurt in her wide eyes. "Point taken. But then again if you were stay around here for any length of time, which you're not-" HHe warned when she looked inclinded to interrupt "You'd discover that I'm the kind of bastard given to cruel pronoucements"<br>"That's not true"  
>His brows dived down towards his nose. "Back in the early days of the town, implying a man was a liar would of got you killed"<br>Ignoring the warning in his narrowed eyes, she reached out and placed her hand on his arm. "I was simply pointing out you're a better man than you think you are Kai Hiwatari."  
>He looked down at the hand on his sleeve. HEr fingers were long and slender, the nails shoer and unpolished. The skin looked as soft as a babys, suggesting she'd never done manual labor. He remembered his mother's hands - roughened and red years of hard work both indoor and out. If Amethyst was a housekeeper, he was the prince of wales.<br>"WHat's your last name?"  
>She blinked at the sudden change in subject. "Excuse me"<br>"Your last name sweetheart" HE stroked a fingertip up the back of her hand and discovered the ivory skin was, indeed, every bit as soft as it looked. "If we're going to be stuck here together I'd like to know exactly who I'm snowbound with"  
>Although his touch was overtly threatening, Amethyst felt strangely frightened. "Didn't I tell you?"<br>"No" His fingers slipped beneath the sleeve of her sweater. "Not that I recall. But just in case I've forgotten, Why don't you refresh my memory"  
>She bit her lip and weighed her options. One fo the reasons Amethyst hated lying was that such behaviour was foreign to her nature, she always found it impossible to keep her stories straight. Which is why, More often than not, She'd find herself caught up in as hopelessly tangled web of her own making.<br>Sensing that Kai was not going to be easy to decieve, she decided that the safest tactic would be to continue to hedge as long as possible. At least until they could get out of here and she could find him a suitable wide.  
>"I don't remember"<br>His answering stare was razor sharp.  
>"Really" She insisted afraid he could hear the falsehood in her desperate tone. "The shock of my recent ordeal must of affected my memory"<br>He suprised her by laughing. A rough, harsh, rusty bark that sounded as if it had been a very long time since anything or anyone had made him laugh.  
>Turning his attention to the colt again, he traced the engraving on the butt with his finger. "This was my Father's cavalry revolver"<br>"Family heirlooms are nice" Although she was grateful for the change in subject, unloaded or not, she wishedhe'd put the gun down.  
>"He came home from fighting in the war and found his wife dead of a fever" He said as if he hadn't heard her soft comment. "I always thought it was ironic that he made it through that brutal war only to have her die while he was riding back home"<br>"That was a tragic coincidence"  
>"The timing sure as hell sucked" He made her casket from the pine he'd been saving to use for a cradle. Then he went out to the back meadow and dug a hole beneath the tree where she'd liked to picnic in the summer"<br>AS he stared out the window, Amethyst suspected he was not looking at the driving snow but imagining the long ago scene"  
>When the microwave dinged, he shook his head as if get rid of the images filling it and spooned the reheated stew into bowls and put them on the table along with a plate of bread from the night before.<br>Kai continued the story as they ate.  
>"According to William's journal, after he dug the hole, he returned to the house and bathed her with warm water scented with lilacs. Remembering that the scent had helped him overcome the battleground stench of rotting flesh and blood during those war years"<br>His voice had taken on a distant, faraway tone, making Amethyst wonder if he even remembered she was in the room. "He brushed her hair with the ovory-handled brush he'd given her before they were married. She'd brushed her long black hair with that brish and he'd watched her as he lay on the bed in her room on the second floor of the Golden Belle Dance Hall and Saloon. When she smiled at him in the mirror, William knew she was in love."  
>"She worked there?" Amethyst asked. Althoughthe documents had referred to William's wifes tragic death, it hadn't mentionedher being a prostitute.<br>"That's right. William's wife was a whore" His challenging gaze dared her to criticize his Father.  
>"If you're trying to shock me, it's going to take more than that" She told him mildly "Tell me the rest of the story"<br>He gave her another long look. Then, Since she seemed genuinely interested he shrugged and continued "It took some convincing but Annie finally agreed to marry him. And Although life in Arizona Territory proved a lot harder than her pampared existance as the most sought after working girl in San Francisco, if William's journal can be believed she never once complained. In fact, He wrote that not a day went by that she didn't assure him in words and in bed, how much she loved him"  
>"That's a lovely story" Amethyst said "And you're so forunate your father left behind the journal for you"<br>It was, she considered, a much nicer legacy than that deadly gun lying beside his plate.  
>"William was reputed to be an outspoken man who didn't bother censoring his words. He was every bit as frabk in his journal" Kai stated.<br>"He even wrote about how he'd wept like a baby while he dressed her in the lace-trimmed nightgown he'd so enjoyed taking off her. Wept as he'd held her in his arms on last time. Wept as he'd put her in the casket that was to be her final resting place, then loweredthe pine box into the ground and covered it with earth"  
>When he fell silent, his face set in a granite mask so full of pain it was all Amethyst could do to keep from weeping herself, she knew he was thinking about another women's death. A woman he'd never been allowed to love openly. A woman he'd been deprived of holding one final time in his arms, of kissing goodbye before she was buried on the neighbouring land. Kai dragged his hand down his face and let out a long pained breath. "He said the only prayer he knew" He continued in a low, gruff monotone, as if determined to getthrough the story. "It was one he'd heard the Chaplain use over too many men on too many battlefields-The lords Prayer. Then he went back into the house where he proceeded to get very very drunk"<br>"Not a uncommon reaction" She said.  
>He gave her a sharp look but her tone and expression nothing. "I suppose not"<br>"What happened next?" Amethyst prompted.  
>"The next morning he saddled up and rode off to join the Cavalry. No longer having anything to live for, he figured that at least if he died in battle, he'd be reunited with his Annie."<br>"But he didn't die"  
>"Nope" He shook his head. "Fate proved damn fickle misstress yet again when he was mustered out of the 7th Cavalry three days and sent home"<br>"He was lucky"  
>"Perhaps. Or, maybe he had a fairy godmother looking after him"<br>"That always helps" She agreed, once again ignoring his obvious sarcasm.  
>Kai gave her another long, steady look. "Hell it was probably your grandmother"<br>"You never know" She sqaid mildly She was either nuts, or the smoothest scam artist he'd ever met. Kai, who'd always considered himself a pretty good judge of both horseflesh and people, couldn't decide which.  
>"So what happened after he left the army?" Amethyst asked "Since he didn't have anywhere else to go, he returned here to Arizona Territory and married a young widow who bored him three children, one of whom -the son- reached adulthood."<br>"you"  
>"yeah"<br>"How wonderful he was able to fall in love again"  
>Amethyst said encouragingly, hoping he'd see this parallel between his father and himself.<br>"Spoken like a true romantic" Kai replied in a remoted voice. He pushed away from the table, stood up and without another word, walked out of the room. Taking the gun with him. Unwilling to leave him alone to try to commit suicide again, Amethyst was right on his heels.  
>He stopped in front of the open bathroom door. "I'm going to take a shower. If you insist on following me I supposed I could always use some help with that spot in the middle of my back that's always so hard to reach"<br>He was so tall. So Strong. So threatening. So Compeling. Amethyst swallowed.  
>"If that's supposed to frighten me it's not working"<br>"What if I'm not trying to scare you away?" His eyes on hers, he trailed a fingertip down her cheek. "What if I was inviting you to share my shower with me?"  
>"Thanks but I've already showered" The smile she flashed him was bright and as false as fools gold. HE looked down at her for a long silent time. Amethyst stood her ground, refusing to flinch. Finally she was reward when she caught sightof the twitch at the corners of his lips.<br>He might refuse to admit it, but he was softening. She could sene it. Emboldened by knowledge, she reached up and patted his stubbly cheek. "You might want to think about shaving while you're at it" She suggested sweetly.  
>That said, it was her turn to walk away.<br> 


	9. Chapter 9

Thank you all so far who are keeping a eye on my story. I had one reviewer and I thank you for it. I will try to keep a better eye on my grammar and spelling, but I do apologise, English is not my first language.

Chapter 9 "I can't believe you did such a thing!" Andromeda stared in amazement at the most famous fairy godmother of all. To think that the normally flappable Harmony would lose her temper and make a bet that she could successfully match two woefully incompatible individuals was astonishing.  
>"Sometimes, I can't either" Harmony admitted as she finished up her story."But I was younger then, and unfortunately possessed of a flash-fire temper. And Merryweather was so irritating, always going on so about how she'd managed to rescue Sleeping Beauty by changing Maleficent's death sentence to merely sleeping until she was awakened by a prince's kiss, that I wanted - no, I needed- to show her up."<br>"By pulling off the mismatch of the century"  
>"Well, you have to admit, I succeeded"<br>"No one has ever topped you" Andromeda agreed.  
>"Believe me I'm all too aware of that. And, Although I rather enjoy the adulation of our young romance godmothers, and the statue in the contemplation garden is quite attractive, I do regret not being able to keep my hand in, so to speak."<br>Harmony's merry eyes turned wistful "Unfortunately there weren't any matches I could of made that would have lived up to the impossible standard I inadvertently set for myself."  
>"Matching Amethyst with Kai could do that" Andromeda said "If it works"<br>"It is a risk" Harmony agreed reluctantly."Which is why you're the only one who knows I'm attempting it. IF Amethyst and her cowboy live happily ever after you can announce it at our monthly awards dinner. IF the match doesn't work out, no one will be none the wiser."  
>"You know" Andromeda suggested "It might have a better chance if I could talk to Amethyst face to face. Explainw hat was happening"<br>Good manners and tradition, going back to the beginning of time, decreed that one fairy godmother never interferes with another's chosen assignment. Yet, knowing Amethyst as she did, Andromeda couldn't share Harmony's confidence about the plan. "Surely you don't want to reveal that she's her assignment's chosen mate?"  
>"Of course not. But she's bound to be feeling a little insettled right now. PErhaps if I could just reassure her-"<br>Harmony laughed. "If theres one thing Amethyst has an abundance of, it's self assurance. Even when it's misplaced"  
>"However" Harmony added "Given Amethyst's past history I can certainly understand your concern. Perhaps it might be a good idea to calm any fears she might have. Goodness knows she's unpredictable enough even without this extra burden"<br>More than a little relieved, Andromeda folded her hands together in front of her and imagined herself in Kai's Kitchen.  
>Amethyst was whistling a off-tune rendition of "Jingle Bells" as she managed to tidy up the kitchen. Outside the window the snow had finally stopped and the afternoon sun slanting through the white-flocked pine trees made the landscape sparkle like diamonds. The scene, which could have come straight from the front of a christmas card, glittered as brightly as the hope in her heart.<br>A faint sound, like the silver bells in the christmas song captured her attention and she spun around. "Oh I'm so glad to see you!" She exclaimed.  
>As serious as things were, Andromeda could not help smiling. So many of the community complained about Amethyst's mismatches. Unfortunately, none of those naysayers seemed to realise that her boundless enthusiasm was contagious. Their world was going to be a slightly darker -not to mention duller- place without Amethyst in it.<br>"I'm always with you" She remarked calmly. "You should know that"  
>"I hoped you were" Amethyst admitted "But then, after I foolishly made that wish to be mortal..."<br>"That was careless of you" the older woman agreed in that faintly chiding tone Amethyst had become accustomed to hearing.  
>"I know" Amethyst's soft sigh ruffled her curly bangs. "But I was so worried about Kai that I just didn't think"<br>"You were leading with your heart again. And not your head."  
>"True" Amethyst's smile faded slightly. "But it's so differcult not to open my heart to Kai. He's such a special man. And he's suffered so horribly."<br>"You knew that when you accepted the assignment" Andromeda reminded her. "I know" The light momentarily left Amethyst's eyes, like a candle being snuffed out by a icy wind. "But I believe I've found the answer to my dilemma"  
>Andromeda arched a eyebrow. "What's that?"<br>"This" Amethyst held out the letter she'd found lying beside the kitchen looked as if Kai had wadded it up into a ball and tossed it in the general direction of the wicker basket but missed. Undoubtedly because of all the alcohol he'd been drinking.  
>Amdromeda gingerly plucked the letter from Amethyst's hand and frowned at the coffee ring in the centre of the paper. "This is a notice about a tournament"<br>"In Tombstone! Kai is being invited to defend his title"  
>"So it says" Andromeda's frown deepened "I don't understand what this has got to do with-"<br>"Don't you see, women love champions, and winners! All I have to do is get Kai to agree to battle in it, then find suitable mate, - a woman with interests similar to his - and get them together"  
>Amethyst's smile was back to full wataage and warm enough, were she so inclined, to melt all the snow that had fallen.<br>"I Suppose that's one way of handling things" Poor dear. She was as clueless as ever. Didn't she realise that she didn't have to convince the man to go anywhere? That destiny-and, more importantly, Harmony- had decreed that she was the perfect match for Kai Hiwatari.  
>"It's the best way" Amethyst assured her "There is just one little problem"<br>"Oh?" Andromeda tilted her head and tried to appear curious as she wondered how much of all this she should explain. "I Seem to have lost my powers"  
>There was a long, drawn out pause. Despite her regretable romance record, Amethyst was an intelligant young woman. She'd eventually figure things out.<br>"I know dear" The older woman finally said "And believe me, it wasn't my idea, but..."  
>Amethyst felt her heart plummet to her stomach. "The committee has taken away my powers?"<br>"I'm afraid so" All right, so it wasn't exactly the committee, but there was no point in making the poor girl feel worse by telling her the truth.  
>Amethyst wrung her hands as she began to pace the siny kitchen floor."But how am I supposed to save Kai if I don't have any powers?"<br>"You're a clever girl. You'll think of something"  
>"I don't believe this" Amethyst sank down defeatedly onto a chair by the kitchen table and dropped her head into her hands. A long silence settled over the room. When she finally lifted her gaze, her eyes were bleaker than her superior had ever seen them. "They want to ensure that I don't succeed"<br>"Oh no, Dear, That's not it at all"  
>"Of course it is" Amethyst sighed, then began thoughtfully tapping a fingernail on the tabletop. IT would take a miracle to pull this off without her powers. "Someone is bound and deteminded to drum me out of romance" She concluded. Which wasn't surprising considering all the failure slips in her permanent record. "But you know what?"<br>"What?" Andromeda asked cautiously, fearing the answer.  
>"It isn't going to work" Amethyst stood up and resumed her pacing. "I'm not going to leave that poor man without someone to love! it's not fair. Oh, he's a little gruff, but he's a good man, deep down inside. He deserves to be happy"<br>She spun back towards her superior, her hands splayed on her hips, bright pink flags of determination flying in her cheeks. "And I refuse to allow any bureaucrats in Fairy Godmother Central to keep me from finding the perfect mate"  
>"Brava Dear" Andromeda clapped her approval.<br>It did not escape Andromeda's notice that during her impassioned monologue Amethyst had not once mentioned her own motive for succeeding with this assignment. Somehow, when she hadn't been looking, her focus had shifted from her own agenda to Kai's needs.  
>Perhaps Harmony had been right, after all. Perhaps Amethyst's destiny was here with this man.<br>"I have faith in you Amethyst" Although physical touch was not a part of their world, some instinct made the older woman run her hand down Amethyst's deep purple hair. "And now, before I go, I'm going to leave you with a little gift"  
>"A Gift?" Hope flooded Amethyst's eyes "You're going to restore my powers? "I'm afraid I can't do that. But I can give you three wishes"<br>"Three wishes?" Amethyst immediately though of Kai's earlier sarcastic remarks about genies.  
>"Yes. That's truly all I can do. So you must be very careful to use them wisely"<br>"Three wishes" Amethyst repeated It wasn't much. Certainly not as helpful as having her powers restored. Then again, she reminded herself, three wishes were definately better than nothing at all.  
>"Thank you" In a burst of gratitude, she flung her arms around this woman who'd been in her corner for so long, supporting her when others would of given up trying. Amethyst felt a fleeting sense of loss when Andromenda slipped out of the enthusiastic embrace and began to fade away.<br>"I promise" Amethyst called out "I won't disappoint you this time"  
>There was no answer but Amethyst didn't mind. Because now she had three wishes as backup to her clever plan, everything should work out wonderfully!<br>Her heart light, her spirits renewed she went into the pantry. When she viewed the shelves filled with far more food than she'd stocked them with yesterday, she looked upward her face wreathed in a smile "Thank you"  
>Her confidence high, Amethyst began to plan dinner. Just like a mortal woman might for the man in her life.<br>Kai heard her singing as he came down the stairs. Her voice was a clear contralto that was horrendously off-balence. He felt the unfamiliar tug of his lips trying to smile again. She'd put on a white chef's apron over her soft sweater and had pulled her hair back into a knot to keep it out of the mixture she was stirring. He stood int he doorway and watched her for a time, trying not to think about how often he'd pictured Laura this way. As always, the mental image caused a deep low ache in his gut.  
>A low sound, like the moan of a wounded wolf, drew Amethyst's instant attention "Oh don't you look nice" She said encouragingly ignoring the nicks on his chin. "I like the sweater"<br>He glanced down to see what, exactly, he was wearing. It was the first thing he'd pulled from the drawer and he hadn't paid any attention "Laura gave it to me. For my birthday"  
>"The purple matches your eyes. Obviously she had very good taste"<br>"Of course she did. She picked me, didn't she?" He crossed the room, took a glass fromt he shelf and was about to pour a glass of vodka when he suddenly stopped and exchanged the glass for a coffee cup. Amethyst noted the change of mind, was pleased and clever enough not to comment on it. "Don't look now Kai" She said instead "But I believe you just made a joke"  
>"Damn" He pulled the pack of cigarettes out of his pocket, shook one loose and lit it with a kitchen match from the box by the stove. "I'll have to be more careful in future"<br>And that statement was, Amethyst decided, another one. Things were definately looking up! "I thought I'd bake a cake" She said as she resumed stirring the dark brown batter "I hope you like chocolate"  
>"Who doesn't?"<br>She took some pans froma bottom cupboard and greased them with butter "Would you like to lick the bowl when I'm done?"  
>He smoked and watched as she dusted the pans with too much flour creating a cloud. "I'll just wait for the final product" "Whatever you want" She poured the batter into the pans, then carried them carefully to the oven. She was so intent on getting them on the shelf without spilling the batter she didn't notice Kai coming up behind her. "Whatever I want?" the deep voice rumbled in her ear "What if I want you?"<br>She managed to shut the door, then turned around "I was talking about the cake-"  
>"You've got flour on your face"<br>"I said I was a good cook" She said feeling strangley entranced by the lambent flame in his eyes "I don't recall saying I was neat" "Actually it's kind of cute...there's a little bit here" He ran the back of his fingers along the line of her jaw, then touched her cheek. "And here"  
>"Kai-"<br>His touch created sparks on skin that already felt uncomfortably warm. It had to be the heat of the oven Amethyst assured couldn't be anything else.  
>"I like the way you say my name" He gound the now unwanted cigarette out in a nearby ashtray, then lowered his head. His lips brushed the sensitive hollow behind her earlobe. "In that throaty little voice, tinged with desire. And just a touch of fear" He nipped at her earlobe, her teeth tugging gently. "Are you afraid of me, Amethyst?"<br>"Of course not" She stammered weakly, as she tried to back away. But he kept moving toward her, effectively fenceing her in between the countertop and his body.  
>"Liar" His mouth moved to her temple, beneath the froth of silky curls.<br>Kai was like no other man she's ever been assigned. He burned with a ferocious intensity that, in all honestly, did frighten her. Just a little.  
>"This isn't going to work" She warned as he threaded his hands through her unruly waves. She had the most amazing hair. It felt like silk, Smelled like a mountain meadow in wildflower season and gleamed like a blazing noontime sun. It was the kind a man could wallow in.<br>"What isn't going to work?" He skimmed his fingers down her neck.  
>"Trying to frighten me away" Her heartpicked up it's beat as his palms smoothed over her shoulders, turning her muscles to mush. "Because I'm not going"<br>"You sound pretty sure of yourself" His hands slid down her arms, his long fingers encircled her wrists, holding her hostage."When is it going to sink through that head of yours that I'm the one calling the shots around here?"  
>Amethyst's mouth had gone so dry she had to swallow before she could speak. "You need me" Her voice, usually so steady, was soft and raspy and thick with the turbulent emotions she couldn't comprehend.<br>His grin was quick and decidedly lascivious. "You called that one right, sweetheart" He moved even closer, until the tile counter was pressing into her back and he was pressed against her, so closely she could feel his heart tudding within the strong wall of his chest. Her mind clouded, her blood swam as the friction between his aroused male body and her own strangely restless one threatened to set them both on fire.  
>"You need me" She agreed, trying to tug her hand loose from his restraint "But not this way, I told you, I came here to be your housekeeper"<br>"That was yesterday. Today you're my fairy godmother, remember?"  
>"I need to explain about that-"<br>"It doesn't matter" His voice was rough and raw. Anger flared as he viewed the edgy yet strangely innocent desire in her dazed eyes.  
>The lady was emotional quicksand. Kai figured it was his recent penchant for self destruction that had drawn him to her. That and the inescapeable fact that his throbbing body had completely disconnected itself from his mind. He shook his head to clear it of the hot, unruly thoughts he had no business thinking, let go of her wrists and moved back a step. "As soon as the road clears I'm taking you back to town"<br>"And if I refuse to leave?"  
>Good Question. Short of phyiscally dragging her out of his house, he wasn't sure what he could do. "I suppose I could call the sheriff and have him arrest you for trepassing" He mused out loud.<br>"You wouldn't do that"  
>"You sound awefully sure about that"<br>"I Am"  
>There was a long silence as Kai stared down at her.<br>"Hell" He finally said.  
>"Does that mean I get the job?"<br>Even as he told himself he'd be crazy to let this woman sleep under the same roof as him, the aroma of the baking cake teased as his sense, weakening his resolve. "It means I suppose it wouldn't hurt to give it a try. For a few days"  
>Now that she'd won the little battle of wills, Amethyst could afford to be gracious. She also decided this was not the time to bring up the competition in Tombstone. Kai was a man accustomed to making his own decisions, and she'd just have to make him believe that defending his championship was his own idea.<br>"Thank you" She said solemnly, managing, with effort to restrain the triumphant smile that was trying to break free. "You won't be sorry"  
>"That's probably what the captain of the Titantic said when he was greeting the boarding passengers" Kai muttered "You should know, right off the bat, that I can't afford to pay much. I know people think thinks ranches are rich, but-"<br>"I don't need any money"  
>"Oh excuse me, I forgot, As a fairy godmother you can just wriggle that cute nose and conjure up piles of dough."<br>"Normally, that would be the case" Amethyst agreed deciding that to point out that Fairy godmothers didn't twitch would get them off track. "However there was this glitch and I'm afraid I've lost my powers"  
>"Oh really?" He folded his arms "Talk abotu rotten timing. So, I guess this means you're not going to be able to give me a demonstration?"<br>Amethyst thought about her three wishes and deicded that wasting one just to uphold her pride and prove what she was would be terribly foolhardly, even for her.  
>"I'm afraid not"<br>"Too bad"  
>Surprising her yet again, he ducked his head and brushed a quick kiss against her pouting lips. "Don't worry Sweetheart" HE said "I Always thought that bibbity-bobbity-boo stuff was overrated, anyway"<br>The brief flare of heat from his kiss sent shock waves all the way down to Amethyst's toes. She pressed her fingertips to her tingling lips, watching as he pulled the jacket from the hook by the door.  
>"Where are you going?"<br>"Now it's stopped snowing, I'm going to get a shovel from the bare, dig the truck out, and finish fixing the tire. Then I've got some earrands to run in town. Do you want me to pick up anything?"  
>"Pick up anything?"<br>"Groceries, cleaning supplies, anything like that?"  
>"Oh" Amethyst was quite literally stumped. She had no idea what a mortal housekeeper might need. "Why don't you just get some basics?" She suggested, hoping he wouldn't ask her to be more specific.<br>She was more than a little relieved when he merely shrugged and agreed. Amethyst watched him as he waded through the drifts of snow towards the barn. Then she set to work, cleaning up the bowls and beaters, finding the task much more differcult when forced to do it the mortal way. 


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10.

Thirty minutes after Kai had driven off to town, a fire-engine red jeep cherokee pulled into the driveway. a think evergreen tired to the roof. Amethyst, up to her elbows in soapsuds, watched out of the kitchen window as three women got out of the jeep. A moment later, the doorbell rang. Catching a glimpse of her reflection in the toaster, Amethyst sighed. She was, to put it mildy, a mess. Her hair had sprung loose of it's clip and the front of her apron was spattered with chocolate from the fudge frosting she'd made. Drying her hands on the apron which was already wet from washing dishes, she went to answer the door.

"Hello" A visably pregnant woman said with a polite smile "I'm Noel Giraudeau-"

"Princess of Montacroix" Amethyst acknowledge, reconising her immediately.

"Formerly of Montacroix" Noel corrected easily. "I've been living in Whiskey River for several months" She nodded toward the auburn-haired woman on her left "This is Mariah Wong. And this" She said turning to the woman on her right is Hilary Tachibana"

"Hi" Mariah greeted her with a friendly smile. But Amethyst who was getting intensely strong vibes from the trio, feared she viewed a flash of recognition in the woman's golden cat like eyes. Which was impossible, she assured herself. On all other occasions she'd come to earth, mortals had never realized she wasn't really one of them.

"Hello" Although Hilary Tachibana's expression was polite, her tone was as chilly as the weather.

"Please, come in" Amethyst invited

"Is Kai home?" Noel asked as the trio entered the house.

"I'm afraid not, he's driven into town for supplies but,-"

"I don't mean to be rude" Hilary broke into Amethyst's explanation "But may I ask who, exactly you are? And what you're doing in Kai's house?"

"Oh. I'm sorry" Amethyst held out a hand. "I'm Amethyst, uh" her mind whirled, seeking a last name "Snow" she said as she glanced past the women before shutting the door. "And I'm Kai's new housekeeper"

Hilary ignored the outstretched hand, her lapse in manners drawing a puzzled glance from Noel. "I didn't know Kai was looking for a housekeeper"

Hilary Tachibana's hostility was more than obvious. Realizing this was the sainted Laura's sister, Amethyst decided that it was only natural for her to be resentful of anyone appearing to be taking laura's place. Although all three women were beautiful, Hilary was the most stunningly desireable woman Amethyst had ever seen. If her older sister had possessed even a hint of Hilary Tachibana's feminine appeal, the task of finding Kai a new woman to love had just gotten a whole lot tougher.

"I answered his ad in the Rim Rock Record" Amethyst said.

"Really?" It was Noel's turn to look surprised. "I hadn't realized Kai had placed a ad. My Fiance-" She informed Amethyst "-is publisher of the Record"

"Which doesn't mean he proofreads every classified ad" Mariah countered.

"True" Noel agreed absently, looking at Amethyst with renewed interest. Amethyst watched as something flickeredin the princess's blue eyes. She also noticed Noel's quick questioning glance towards Mariah who seemed to answer with a faint, almost imperceptible nod of her head.

"Would you like some coffee?" Amethyst asked

"We wouldn't want to interrupt your cleaning" Noel said

"How did you know-"

"Your apron gave you away" Mariah smiled. "And we'd love some tea. Hilary's stomach was a bit queasy on the ride over here and-"

"And I'm fine now" Hilary broke in sharply. There was no mistaking her tone or her attitude. Amethyst could serve her Earl Grey on a silver platter with freshly baked pastries and she still wouldn't be able to win Hilary Tachibana's approval.

"It's no trouble" AMethyst insisted "If you're just like to go into the living room-"

"The kitchen will be fine" Noel said "It's so much more cozier, don't you think?"

"We should be going" Hilary argued stubbornly "You have a doctor's appointment soon"

"Not for another hour and a half." The warm smile Noel gave Amethyst was a decided contrast to her cool, pale blond appearence "Everyone has been hovering over me for months"

"It's not hovering to make certain the doctor examines you" Hilary snapped "After all, Noel, You're due today"

"Today?" Amethyst's startled gaze dropped to Noel's stomach.

"First babies are always late. I'll be fine" That seemed to settle the matter, and although Hilary looked less than pleased, the women followed Amethyst into the kitchen.

Amethyst filled the kettle with water, placed it on the stove and silently thanked Andromeda for the teabags in the pantry cupboard. "I think I have some cookies around here somewhere" She began rummaging around on a shelf for the box she was sure she had seen earlier.

"How long have you been a housekeeper?" Hilary asked suddenly.

"I arrived here yesterday"

"I was referring to your previous work. I assume you have references?"

"Of course" Amethyst lied blithely, relieved when the phone on the wall suddenly rang. She picked it up. "hello? Oh yes, she's here"

She held out the phone towards Noel. "It's Tyson"

Noel sighed. "What a surprise. It's been at least five minutes since he last checked in" She took the reciever Amethyst was holding out to her "No Darling" She said "No pains yet"

She rolled her eyes as she listened to what were obviously words of husbandly concern. "I promise, the moment I feel so much as a twinge I'll call you...Of course I'm not qalone. Mariah and Hilary are with me. Yes they have the numbers for the hospital and doctor, but I'm sure I'll be able to make the calls myself" Another pause "Yes dear, I know, just in case"

She put her hand over the reciever and grinned at her friends. "I'm to give you the number of Tyson's pager. In case he has to leave the office"

Mariah laughed and even Hilary smiled.

"Goodbye darling" Noel said "Yes I promise. Yes. First thing. Now if you don't let me go, I'm going to embarrass myself. Yes I love you too" She hung up and turned to Amethyst "I hate to ask but if I could use your bathroom-"

"Of course, I'll show you-"

"Oh, don't bother, I know where it is. And your tea water's ready." She'd no sooner spoken then the kettle began to whistle.

Amethyst poured four cups of tea and served them with mint chocolate cookies she's located. She'd just put the plate on the table when the princess returned.

"Is everything ok?" Mariah asked

"I keep telling everyone I'm fine. Gracious, you'd think I was the first woman in the world to have a baby."

"You may not be the first" Amethyst said "But it's a miracle every time a child comes into the world"

"That's so true" Noel replied softly. She seemed lost in a pleasant memory for a moment, then returned to her brisk self. "The reason we came here today" she said "Was to bring Kai a tree"

"A tree?"

"A christmas tree" Hilary said "We didn't think he'd get one on his own"

"I don't believe he's in a very festive mood" Amethyst allowed.

"That's not surprising" Hilary returned sharply "After all, the poor guy lost the only woman he'd ever loved. The only woman he will ever love"

Amethyst got Hilary's message loud and clear. Kai had always loved laura, always would and only a fool would think he'd ever be able to care for another woman. Understanding that Hilary had obviously loved her sister very much, Amethyst was not offended. Neither was she going to allow Hilary Tachibana to deter her from her assignment. "It was a tragic loss" She agreed. "But it was Laura who was killed. Not Kai."

The challenge had been met and countered. An expectant silence settled over the kitchen as everyone waited to see how Hilary would respond.

"You don't know Kai like I do"

"That's true" Amethyst's nerves were tense, nevertheless she forced her most sincere smile. "But I do know it's not good for him to be dwelling on the past so much"

Hilary arched a gilt brow and looked about to argue the point when Amethyst added "And I'm sure, as his friend, you want him to be happy again"

"Of course I do" Hilary answered.

"We all do" Noel agreed.

"Which is why we brought the tree" Mariah said, returning the conversation to the reason for the women's visit in the first place. "We were hoping to get him to at least acknowledge the holiday"

"Especially as he stood us up for thanksgiving dinner"

"I think the tree is qa lovely idea" Amethyst told them "And I'm sure he'll appreciate the gesture"

That little matter taken care of, Noel, who seemed to be the spokesperson for the group, deftly steered the conversation into safer waters, informing Amethyst of the upcoming Whisky River Cristmas Tree lighting Ceremony and santa claus Parade, From there they went on to a brief discussion of the weather and the sudden earlier blizzard that seemed to have caught all the area weather forecasters by surprise.

As she sipped her tea, Amethyst began to relax and enjoy the companionship. "Do any of you know of a woman called Charmayne Hunter?" She asked suddenly.

Noel and Mariah shook their heads. Hilary's gaze sharpened. "I know Charmayne" Her tone did not suggest she liked her "Why?"

"I heard the name mentioned in town" Amethyst lied The truth was she's read it in Kai's file. "I went to school with a Charmayne Hunter and thought perhaps it might be the same person"

"Well it isn't. Charmayne grew up in Whiskey River. I think I heard she's living in Las Vegas now, teaching blading. She also had a thing going with Kai for a while. That is what you're asking about isn't it?"

The challenge hung between them. Amethyst decided to meet it head-on. "You don't like me very much do you?"

"I don't know you"

"True" Amethyst fiddled with her spoon fior a moment, framing her response. "Would if make any difference" She murmured "if I told you my only interest in Kai is that he's happy?"

"That's all any of us want" Noel said smoothly, placing her hand on Hilary's arm, as if Silently counseling restraint. She glanced up at the kitchen wall clock, then turned to the others. "Since the road's undoubtedly still going to be a bit icy, I suppose we'd better take the tree off the car roof and get going"

Amethyst followed them outside and helped Mariah and Hilary unload the heavy tree and lean it up against the side of the house. "It's lovely" She said, envisioning it covered with bright white lights, glass balls and tinself. She turned towards Hilary. "Is it from your land?"

"Actually it is. Trace and I found it in a spot where Kai and Laura used to meet when they were younger, before our father caught them and made them break it off."

Once again, the message was clear. Kai belonged to Laura. It didn't matter that the woman was dead, her sister was going to ensure that he remained steadfastly loyal.

"I'll tell him you brought it by" Amethyst said.

The two women exchanged a brief, challenging look. Then, without a word, Hilary turned and walked back around the jeep and climbed into the driver's seat.

"She's stilla little senstive when it comes to Laura" Mariah explained "I don't know how much you know-"

"I know everything"

"Oh" Mariah and Noel exchanged another brief glance. "well, then you can understand this is differcult for her. Finding another woman living with Kai."

"I'm living in Kai's house" Amethyst said "Which is not really the same as living with him"

"That's true" Noel agreed "And I'm certain Hilary will get used to the idea. Personally I'm relieved that Kai has someone to watch out for him. We've all been terribly worried"

"He's going to be alright" Amethyst promised.

"Yes" Once again Noel's smile suggested that she was finding something faintly humorous about all this. "I believe he's in very good hands"

"It was nice meeting you Amethyst" Mariah said "Oh, and I'm having a little get together next thursday evening. Nothing fancy just friendly conversation. Can we count on you and Kai?"

There was no way Amethyst was going to spend an evening with Laura's sister "I can't answer for Kai, but-"

"Oh, of course you can" Mariah insisted "For heaven's sake, Amethyst, just say you'll come. And Noel and I promise Hilary will be on her best behaviour."

From what she'd seen, Amethyst decided, controlling Hilary Tachibana would take a whip and a chair.

"Why don't you give it some thought" Noel suggested when she didn't immediately answer.

"All right" Amethyst doubted many people could say no to the lovely pregnant princess. "I'll think about it"

"Good" Noel nodded, seemingly satisified for now. Mariah climbed into the back seat. Just as Noel was about to get into the front passenger seat, she turned towards Amethyst. "Oh and I believe you'd find it much easier to use the dishwasher, rather than do all those dishes by hand"

"Dishwasher?"

"It's next to the sink. I'm sure you'll be able to find a instruction book somewhere in the kitchen. If not just give me a call. I'm in the book."

She shut the door. As if more than a little eager to leave, Hilary gunned the motor.

As she stood on the porch watching the jeep drive away from the house, Amethyst asked herself, what, if anything Noel knew about her situation. She also wondred what her odds were of getting away with not telling Kai about the invitation.

"She seemed nice" Mariah commented as they drove down the curving road toward Whiskey River.

"If she's a housekeeper, I'm princess Di" Hilary muttered.

Noel glanced over at the woman who'd been so quick to befriend her when she'd first arrived in Whiskey River. "If I didn't know you better, I'd think you were jealous"

"Why don't you just read my mind?" Hilary suggested grimly.

Hilary was one of the few people in Whiskey River, along with Mariah, who knew about Noel's psychic abilities.

"You know I have better manners than that" Noel answered mildly.

"Surely you don't want Kai to spend the rest of his life alone" Mariah said.

"What I want is for you to cast a spell over the purple interloper and send her back to wherever she came from"

"I don't do spells" Mariah reminded her.

But you could, if you wanted to"

"I suppose I could, But when I decided to claim my grandmothers house and take over her herbal mail order business I also made the choice not to follow in her Druid footsteps."

"That's a damn waste if you ask me" Hilary muttered "If I could do magic-"

"Amethyst can" Noel said suddenly.

"What?" Hilary shot her a startled look. "Are you saying she's a witch? Like Mariah?"

"She's not a witch" Noel's eyes became thoughtful. "But there's soemthing there" She glanced back at Mariah "You sensed it too, didn't you?"

Mariah nodded. "I sensed something but it was very faint. She was doing a good job of blocking the vibrations. But if she was really capable of casting spells, she'd use one to wash those dishes."

"You don't" Noel said

"Only because I've always wanted to live like a normal woman"

"Maybe Amethyst has made the same choice"

"Perhaps"

A Silence settled over the inside of the jeep. Hilary was the first to break it. "this is just terrific" Her tone said otherwise. "So, if you two are right, Kai's living with a woman whose capable of casting a spell over him"

"Oh I don't thinkshe's going to need magic to do that" Noel murmured

Hilary's answer to that was a ripe, pungent curse.


End file.
